SUNNYVALE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 7, 2006 -- Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR), a technology leader in fiber optic and test and measurement solutions for high-speed data networks, today announced it has been recognized by IEEE Spectrum magazine as ranking first in "Patent Power" for the telecommunications industry for 2005. IEEE Spectrum rated the 113 patents issued to Finisar in 2005 as having the greatest overall patent pipeline power within the telecom equipment industry. Compiled by IEEE Spectrum and 1790 Analytics, a firm that specializes in patent citation analysis, companies are evaluated on the grounds of the number of patents secured and how frequently a company's patents are cited by other patents.

Rankings for each of the 15 industry categories were based upon each company's Pipeline Power score. This score was derived from a mathematical formula that took into account the total number of U.S. patents obtained in the year 2005 and four variables -- Pipeline Growth, Pipeline Impact, Pipeline Generality, and Pipeline Originality.

"In an industry that's built on technological advancement, this achievement demonstrates one of the reasons for Finisar's strength in the industry," said Jerry Rawls, Finisar's CEO. "We're proud to be recognized by IEEE Spectrum as a patent leader and view this accomplishment as recognition of Finisar's emphasis on innovation."

"I think the most interesting findings in the survey are that less well-known companies like Finisar are showing up and playing with the big boys of R & D, going toe-to-toe with the much larger companies in the telecommunications industry," said Harry Goldstein, senior editor, IEEE Spectrum.

The full article and complete rankings appear in the November issue of IEEE Spectrum magazine.

About Finisar

Finisar Corporation (NASDAQ: FNSR) is a technology leader for fiber optic components and subsystems and network test and monitoring systems. These products enable high-speed data communications for networking and storage applications over Gigabit Ethernet Local Area Networks (LANs), Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs), and Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) using Fibre Channel, IP, SAS, SATA and SONET/SDH protocols. The Company's headquarters is in Sunnyvale, California, USA. www.finisar.com.

About IEEE Spectrum

IEEE Spectrum and IEEE Spectrum Online offer news, insightful analysis, and authoritative perspectives of the impact of emerging technologies on business, the economy and our lives. Award-winning, cutting-edge technology journalism makes IEEE Spectrum a monthly staple for more than 385,000 engineering managers and technology business leaders worldwide. www.spectrum.ieee.org

Contact Information: MEDIA CONTACT: Victoria McDonald Finisar Corporation (408) 542-4261 victoria.mcdonald@finisar.com