Ciena wins contract with AFN

Telecom carrier AFN Communications selected optical telecom equipment maker Ciena on Wednesday as its primary gear supplier. AFN already operates 2,000 miles of its 8,000-mile fiber network, which runs through 13 states in the northeastern United States, and will light the rest with Ciena's CoreDirector, MetroDirector and CoreStream gear. The deal is Ciena's first contract as a carrier's primary supplier. AFN started in 2000 and built its network by interconnecting the fiber and other network assets of six utility and telecom carriers, which in return received equity in AFN. The company mainly provides connection services to other telecom companies, wireless carriers and Internet service providers.