There is a new name in mobile communications for trucking: Terion, Inc. Monday, the company based in Melbourne, Florida, won approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a new kind of transceiver, unlike those found in long-haul trucks today.

Terion's system will use two totally different forms of communication. From dispatch to driver, Terion will broadcast text messages over FM radio side bands that reach most of North America. Some one-way paging systems work that way now.
Messages from the driver will travel a different route. The truck-mounted Terion transceiver will broadcast much like a ham radio, bouncing signals off the Ionosphere for near worldwide range. But Terion says its digital high frequency technology is far more reliable.
The result, says the company, will be a service that rivals satellite for coverage and cellular for cost. With the backing of big-name partners such as Penske and Detroit Diesel, Terion is clearly taking aim at Qualcomm and HighwayMaster, among other popular providers of trucking communications.