Watch Telephony's Security Webcast Find out what Verizon Business is doing with managed network security and how service providers can cash in with this new service. Watch Telephony's Webcast today.

Optical Solutions Inc. announced it has now shipped its fiber-to-the-home platform to 30 customers using it to provide IPTV service.

The 30th customer, Pioneer Telephone Cooperative of Oklahoma, is using the Gigabit passive optical network (GPON) platform to offer video service to some of its more than 140,000 customers/members in 72 exchanges across the state. "We made the decision to focus on GPON two years ago, and this just validates our decision," said John Griffin, executive vice president of OSI.

The deal is indicative of a trend for larger carriers to adopt GPON technology, he said. Pioneer is the third largest cooperative telco in the U.S.

Currently, most of OSI's customers are building "exurbia" regions that are growing quickly. In virtually all cases, the telcos are either providing video or have plans to offer it.

"I don't believe you can justify fiber-to-the-home without video," Griffin said.

OSI also is starting to work with larger multi-state independents, though many are having a hard time getting the economics of FTTH to work because the carriers often were formed through a series of acquisitions. The same applies to the RBOCs, he added.

"It's really tough to string together all those areas and leverage that to get the operational savings you get with FTTH," Griffin said.

In a separate announcement, OSI said that Silver Star Communications, based in Freedom, Wyo., would be the first customer of its FiberPath 590 OLT+. The platform, which was unveiled earlier this year, is targeted at telcos that may not be ready to deploy GPON technology just yet but want to plan for future upgrades.