A leading cable industry magazine has chosen Lawrence-based Sunflower Broadband as its System of the Year.

Editors of Communications Technology cited Sunflower’s early adoption of new technology such as wireless Internet service for remote rural areas, the creation of special broadband packages that allow users to stream video without overage charges, and an expansion of its video on demand service.

“We’re really proud to win,” said Rod Kutemeier, general manager of Sunflower Broadband. “They really looked at our ability to serve the customer with the latest products and to serve customers in new ways.”

The award marks the third time that Sunflower has been named a top system in a national award competition. In 1988, Sunflower Cablevision was named the system of the year by the Cable ACE Awards, and in 2003 the company was chosen the top operator by CableFax Magazine.

Sunflower serves about 36,000 homes in Lawrence, Tonganoxie, Eudora, Basehor, Piper, Linwood and parts of rural Douglas and Leavenworth counties.

Sunflower Broadband is owned by The World Company, which publishes the Journal-World. In August, The World Company announced a deal to sell Sunflower to Knology of Kansas Inc., part of Georgia-based Knology Inc. Knology is expected to take over operations of Sunflower’s cable, Internet and phone services by the end of the year.