Ruckus Wireless announced today that Pioneer Telephone Cooperative, the nation’s third largest co-op, will begin a customer trial of its wireless set-top box technology.

The telco, which has more than 20,000 broadband subscribers and is among the most aggressive IPTV providers, will test Ruckus’ “smart Wi-Fi” system, which allows users to stream digital TV content around the home using standard 802.11g technology.

Pioneer previously was rewiring homes with category 5 Ethernet to get video from a network interface device to set-tops around the home, a process that took two technicians up to three hours. Additionally, the company was doing a truck roll before installation to condition the line into the home.

“They could only install about three subscribers per day because it took them so long to wire a home,” a Ruckus spokesman said. “They wanted to eliminate a truck roll.”

With the Ruckus platform, the same technician that conditions the line can complete the installation, which takes about 45 minutes. Pioneer is using Amino’s IP set-tops, which can now be plugged into Ruckus’ device.

For the vendor, the Pioneer trial is the first with a U.S. customer and key to its expansion here. Ruckus has been among the first to put in product form a technology that many are hoping will significantly cut the operational cost of deploying IPTV.

“With the Ruckus System, we believe we can turn this problem into a real benefit,” Scott Ulsaker, video products manager for Pioneer said in prepared comments. “Not only will we be able to solve the in-home distribution problem, but we will have a true multimedia service platform that can reliably handle all types of digital content. It will enable us to easily offer new digital broadband services and manage these services in the home. The Ruckus system clearly represents the next step for in-home service delivery for broadband providers as well as for consumers.”