Truck Stop Internet (warning: lots of techno-speak)

Yep, quite happy with my ~$73 Unlimited Data Verizon Plan. (300mins I dont use and blocked text)

I have another Phone on the 'new' shared plan, which I use to talk/text.

 

I have unlimited WiFi that I take with me on the road for $30/month. For the most part it has worked well for me. I did have problems in Davenport a couple of weeks ago. That is the first time that I have had a problem where I could not get on the air. I prefer being able to access the internet anywhere I go. Other than this incident, getting online has not been an issue. I use the internet mostly for running my business. I also use it for this and couple of other trucking forums. I think most drivers would prefer some versatility for internet access. It has been some time since I have used WiFi at truck stops. As I recall, the speed was very slow and security was questionable. If you could provide some versatility and a low cost, you might have a market. One problem I can see is your competition which will come from those with the new "smart" phones. Most can access the internet, download movies and some can even watch TV. One thing that might be appealing is to offer the same service from all truck stops rather than a specific brand, such as TA or Pilot.

 

Yes, getting rid of Wandering WiFi would be helpful as this is mostly useless except during odd low-usage times. They aren't fed with enough full time bandwidth. I just don't think you can "guarantee" bandwidth 24/7 to a mostly video-streaming group if they are not forced to "pay to play". But you can come much closer if you can figure a way to bill for actual consumption in 5 gig blocks good for a calendar month, with blocks getting cheaper the more you buy. Buy in advance gets an additional discount, but use it or lose it. But the router equipment costs to handle consumption monitoring and data usage reporting back to the office may be astronomical.

Many truck stops are too far away from any decent cable provider's copper or fiber, and I suspect telco T-3's to a solid backbone are still cost prohibitive. With your (OP) model, a casual web browser/email user still has to compete (at the same cost) with the ROKU and porn surfers who can suck up whatever bandwidth you can provide a location in a hurry

 

Just thought I would mention that approach. I have a friend who started his own business that way (residential Broadband), and he didn't have a large chunk of cash to start out with. Sounds like you got it lined out pretty good, get er done!

 

I have Clearwire WiFi/Wi-Max modem for my laptop $45 mo. it works pretty much anywhere I get a 4G cell phone signal, its not perfect but I don't need to use the WiFi to watch movies the Wi-Max 4G works fine. I've had it for years plus I can also use my cell 4G LTE mostly anywhere too. Both are UNLIMITED data! My cell is $40 mo.

 

To me, it seems you'll need to sell quantity (data Kb's), not quality (data throughput) to truckers if you hope to turn a profit.

Something along the order of "guarantee" all subscribers 1 gig per day at 2 or 3 Mbs, once they hit that they get throttled back to 700 kbs, (until midnight). But I can tell you, knowing truckers like I know them, if they are paying for premium service, you better provide it 24/7, everywhere because the first time they have to deal with a connection that harkens back to dial-up days they will drop the service in a heartbeat. And I would too if there was some guarantee of level of service and I did not get it. Which is my point ... you can't guarantee quality and that much data, everywhere, all the time.

 

My unlimited verizon works great, especially now that the FCC #####-slapped verizon for throttling power users.

 

I actually would pay for this considering my cell phone bill for me and my girlfriend is 417 dollars due to the 300 dollar 40gig tier plan we are on...and the WiFi at truck stops suck way too much to pay 20 or 30 a month for, plus I'm not always at truck stops...

 

Well haven't heard anything since 2014 about his grand plan. Lol.
Ask Sprint how WiMax worked out for them....



http://yourstory.com/2012/01/why-wimax-lost-the-data-communication-battle/
https://wirelesstelecom.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/the-rise-and-fall-of-wimax-2/