FierceIPTV announces its first-ever list of "IPTV Innovators" recognizing telcos leading the field in the advancement and deployment of IPTV. This year's winners are mostly small telcos, the majority with 30,000 lines or fewer, that have deployed IPTV via fiber-to-the-home or hybrid copper/fiber systems.

In previous years, the Fierce 15 recognized progressive startup vendors in the IPTV space, but the publication shifted its focus this year to IPTV providers -- companies actually deploying IPTV technologies and making IPTV a consumer reality.

FierceIPTV evaluated numerous telcos based on how early they deployed, the technology they used and what features they offered, such as video-on-demand, HDTV and wireless routing.

"This year's winners reflect the realized migration of telecoms into the television business," said Deborah McAdams, editor of FierceIPTV. "A lot of the companies featured on this list are legacy community phone companies, yet they were able to leap out of the gate and deploy IPTV to their customers before many of the larger Tier I carriers."

A profile of each company is available on the FierceIPTV Web site at http://www.fierceiptv.com.

The 2007 IPTV Innovators are:

1. Ayersville Telephone (Defiance, OH)
2. Blue Valley Telephone (Home, KS)
3. Canby Telecom (Canby, OR)
4. Citizens Telephone Coop (Floyd, VA)
5. Hancock Telecom (Greenfield, IN)
6. Panhandle Telephone Coop (Guymon, OK)
7. Pioneer Telephone Cooperative (Kingfisher, OK)
8. Project Mutual Telephone (Rupert, ID)
9. PSC (St. Meinrad, IN)
10. Ringgold Telephone (Ringgold, GA)
11. Rochester Telephone (Rochester, IN)
12. South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative (Glasgow, KY)
13. SureWest Communications (Roseville, CA)
14. Vernon Telephone (Wesbty, WI)
15. West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corp. (Mayfield, KY)