PNV Sets Up Internet Kiosks

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — PNV Inc., whose cable TV and phone hookups are popping up in parking lots, is now offering Internet kiosks inside truck stops.

The Coral Springs, Fla., communications provider, which went public with a stock offering late last year, is hoping that truck drivers will take to the Net as enthusiastically as the rest of American society. Company executives talked about their new service during a private demonstration on Feb. 3 in Nashville, Tenn., where Natso Inc., a trade organization of truck stop owners, was holding its annual meeting.

To encourage truckers to go online, the company is making the rounds at truck stops nationwide with a mobile computer classroom. PNV hopes the training will lead drivers to use its Internet products, including 30 kiosks installed in Travel Centers of America and Pilot facilities.

A truck driver enters a telephone booth-like area to access the Internet, e-mail, trip routing and mileage information or print out material. A Web camera will allow the user to send video messages and respond to survey questions that could be aired on ZDTV, a business and technology cable television network.

For the full story, see the Feb. 21 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.