March 16, 2005 Washington, DC -- Fiber Optic Communities of the United States (FOCUS), a non-profit organization representing communities with fiber-optic communications networks, today announced the addition of thirteen new members, including residential communities, non-profit entities, and telecommunications professionals. The organization says the growth in membership reflects the ongoing development and implementation of FTTP installations across the U.S.
The new members include:
* Ameriss, a Richardson, Texas company specializing in FTTP planning, design, and engineering, whose customers include major U.S. service providers.
* FiberFirst Minnesota, a non-profit educational and advocacy organization with the stated goal of making Minnesota the most FTTP-rich state in the nation by 2010.
* FTTH Communications, an integrated provider of voice, video, and Internet services to residential and commercial developments in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, including fiber communities in Albertville, Hugo, and Rosemount, Minnesota.
* Hiawatha Broadband Communications, a broadband services company providing voice, video, and data services to residents of southeastern Minnesota, with a wholesale division engaged in assisting telecom providers with connectivity needs.
* The City of Loma Linda, CA, which, according to a press release, is the first city in America to create and implement a fiber and structured-wiring building code for all new home and business developments.
* Optical Solutions, a North American developer of Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) FTTP systems for residential and business services, as well as FTTP and IPTV deployments.
* PacketFront, a global provider of open-access FTTP platforms with deployments in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Finland, Dubai, Korea, Japan, Canada, and the U.S.
* The Peninsula on Indian River Bay, a 1,400-home fiber community located on the Delmarva Peninsula, which occupies portions of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.
* Reedsburg Utility Commission, a community-owned and -operated electric and water utility in Wisconsin, as well as a municipal local exchange carrier of voice, video, and data services over fiber-optic infrastructure.
* Stratford Mutual Telephone Company, a rural carrier in Iowa planning to launch FTTP to every home and business in its approximately 1,000-member service area, financing the deployment with a low-interest broadband loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
* Vision BroadbandNOW, a provider of FTTP and broadband services to the telecommunications industry, based in Londonderry, N.H.
* Wave7 Optics, a global developer of point-to-multipoint Ethernet FTTP systems for residential and business services with deployments in United States, Brazil, Australia, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East.
* WorldNet Telecommunications, a Puerto Rican local provider.
"We are pleased to be joined by a breadth of FTTP visionaries," comments Max Kipfer, founder and president of FOCUS. "Each of our new members is an industry leader which will contribute greatly to the goal of bringing fiber connections to homes and business across America."