Pilot to Offer SiriCOMM Wi-Fi

SiriCOMM Inc., Joplin, Mo., announced it will install SiriCOMM Wi-Fi at each of the 255 Pilot Travel Center locations nationwide.

Pilot will market SiriCOMM's services to its customers as a business partner in SiriCOMM's value-added reseller program. Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is a standard for wireless networks that is being installed in truckstops around the country.
SiriCOMM provides fleet management solutions to trucking companies. Truck drivers access SiriCOMM's management tools using handheld computers that communicate wirelessly at each SiriCOMM Wi-Fi Hot Spot.
Each SiriCOMM Wi-Fi Hot Spot includes access points for data communications, a long-range frequency for vehicle data transmissions, satellite communications, and SiriCOMM's proprietary remote server. The server manages the network by granting access based on each user's credentials and provides a secure environment for business applications. The open-architecture system was designed to enable SiriCOMM's partners and customers to develop and launch proprietary solutions on the nationwide network, in addition to operating SiriCOMM's fleet management software.
According to Hank Hoffman, SiriCOMM president and CEO, SiriCOMM’s Wi-Fi network will provide wireless services for trucking companies, not Internet access for truck drivers – though the network could provide that service if necessary. Wi-Fi Internet access for individual drivers is offered at Pilot locations by Truckstop.net, another Wi-Fi provider.
"This agreement is an important step in our endeavor to bring our services to market. Pilot's extensive nationwide footprint gives us the initial coverage area our fleet customers require," said Hoffman.
SiriCOMM will install more than 400 hot spots during 2004, focusing on high-traffic locations that are frequented by truck drivers. In addition to travel centers, SiriCOMM has identified shipping facilities, state-run locations such as rest areas and weigh stations, and truck company terminals as potential SiriCOMM Wi-Fi Hot Spots.
For more information, visit www.siricomm.com.