| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JANUARY 25, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| BITS & BYTES
Introducing Cyber-Age Truck Stops DRIVING AN 18-WHEELER ON LONG INTERSTATE ROUTES can get awfully lonely and boring. And roadside truck stops don't offer much solace: a few pay phones for calling home, a TV in a smoky lounge playing somebody else's favorite sitcom. Now, there's a high-tech solution that could be as welcome for truckers as an ''Eat'' sign along I-80. Park'N View offers cable TV, phone service, and Internet access at 200 truck stops around the U.S. for just $30 per month, plus the cost of an Internet account. After connecting a laptop PC, TV, or phone in the truck to cables in the parking lot, drivers can talk privately on the phone, surf the Web, or watch 18 cable channels. The service is the brainchild of wireless phone entrepreneur Ian Williams, who plans to expand Coral Springs (Fla.)-based Park'N View to 650 truck stops in the next few years. Trucking companies love the service because it helps them stay in touch with drivers. And truckers rave. ''The quality of life on the road just went up 100%,'' says driver Craig Hilleary. It's the real Information Superhighway. By Andy Reinhardt EDITED BY STEVE HAMM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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