Don’t anybody jump to conclusions; but I’ve been informed, by a senior official at Flying J, that we’re one baby step closer to seeing an industry-wide truck stop Wi-Fi network become reality. I’m not even hinting at this early stage that the creation of such a network is imminent, or even likely, but, at least now, the unreturned calls made by Flying J, inviting the truck stop heads to discuss the possibilities, are beginning to be returned. Considering the hurdles that had to be overcome just to get a phone call or three returned, I’m cautiously optimistic. Honestly, though, the Flying J spokesman thinks a successful outcome is “a real long shot given the competitive environment that we exist in.”

It’s my personal opinion that the wide range of Wi-Fi subscriptions a driver might be forced to maintain, along with the potentially unstable companies through which those subscriptions are made, has left a lot of drivers sitting on the sidelines. True, a perfectly viable option, one that virtually eliminates those and one or two other objections, is to use cellular broadband. As a matter of fact, the driving force behind Flying J Communication’s unification entreaties to the other truck stop chains is, at least in part, due to the competition they’re seeing from the cellular services.

I also understand that there are some who may have chosen to go the cellular route, either in part or in whole, because they prefer to avoid enriching the coffers of truck stop chains to any greater degree than absolutely necessary. That’s fine, with them I have no quibble, but there are those of us who would prefer, for any number of reasons, to see truck stop Wi-Fi maintained as a strong cellular competitor. Wi-Fi, whatever its faults and foibles, has its advantages, even in an over-the-road world, and I’d hate to someday write of its demise. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed in hope of productive talks.