Ciena Canada's (Nasdaq: CIEN) expanding presence in the Ottawa region should serve as a boost to a region that's been financially hit hard by the downfall of Nortel.
To show their appreciation for Ciena's growing presence in the region, Ontario is providing the company with a $25 million grant, a piece of the company's five year, $900 million plan to expand research and development in the city. The move comes after Ciena bought Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) division last year.
Purchasing Nortel's MEN division has proven to be a good move for the Linthicum, Md.-based vendor. Not only has the company signed up deals with a number of Canadian service providers, including rural provider Barrett Xplore, Canada's Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE), and MTS Allstream, but it has become a greater contributor to quarterly revenue.
With these R&D efforts in place, Ciena and Ontario estimate they will create 353 new jobs, while supporting 967 existing jobs in the region. In addition, Ciena said it will partner with local universities and hire 125 university graduates.
Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, said in a release that "Today's announcement gives Ciena and Ontario's ICT Sector a boost as they compete in the rapidly growing telecommunications networking field."
For more:
- see the release
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