in May 1996 to Sprint Corporation. At $195 million, the company's first-year sales were the highest ever recorded by a startup at the time. WorldCom also became an early customer. As of early 1997, Sprint and WorldCom accounted for 97 percent of Ciena's revenue. Ciena began diversifying its clientele and acquiring smaller contracts in 1997.

Ciena went public on NASDAQ in February 1997 with the largest initial public offering by