Based: Malden, MI
Founded: 1967
www.falconcommunications.com
Why it's fierce: Falcon is in an enviable position in the IPTV marketplace right now: It's the leading IPTV end-to-end solution for Tier 2 and Tier 3 telcos in the U.S., which just happen to be flocking to IPTV services to combat rising triple- and quadruple-play threats from the cable co's. Unlike many so-called “end-to-end” solution providers, Falcon actually does have a complete package, right up to the DSLAM on past the middleware. Falcon has served rural telcos for the past 40 years and if the service providers are going to stick around, Falcon will be the one to power their next-gen services for the next 40 years. What's more, if you take a look at the rest of this list, Falcon has many of these companies onboard as a piece of its solution.
What to look for: Falcon will ink deals with more than 100 rurals by year end, giving it a sizeable base of IPTV subscribers.