News

Truck stops slowly becoming tech centers

June 4, 2003

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Interstate Connections LP has signed a deal with TA Travel Centers of America to place its electronics stores inside 66 truck stops across the country by March 2004. The majority of those kiosks will be deployed by November, according to an article in the Austin Business Journal.

Travel Centers of America has already set a precedent for technology by having self-service kiosks in place for truckers. See related story, "Shopping the software scene."

The 2-year-old Interstate leases space for its kiosks inside truck stops and sells everything from mobile phones to bill-paying services to truckers and other motorists. Interstate Connections, based in Austin, Texas, now has 48 kiosks in outlets operated by Nashville, Tenn.-based Petro Stopping Centers, the article said.

Interstate has generated nearly $10 million in revenue for 2002, up from $1.7 million in revenue during 2001, the year it was started. Brandon Frye, chief executive officer of Interstate Connections, said the company is poised for $17 million in revenue for 2003.

The formation of Interstate Connections was based upon the success its founders had operating mobile phone kiosks inside shopping malls, according to the article.

Frye and several other members of the Interstate Connections management team had started Advanced Digital Solutions, then sold it in 2001 to an Arizona company for $1 million.

Interstate Connections should see a boom in businesses as truck drivers become more technically savvy, said Beth Fusakio, director of communications for the Alexandria Va.-based trade group NATSO Inc., formerly known as the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, the article said.

Based on 2001 data, about 20 percent of truckers carried laptops in their trucks and 54 percent of those who owned and operated their own trucks carried laptops. A NATSO task force is promoting wireless access for truckers, which should lead to increased computer use.