CCJ

August 2015

Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal

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E very morning in my yard, I see mushrooms that have sprouted and grown taller than the surround- ing grass – all in a matter of hours. Not until recently did I equate fast- growing mushrooms with transpor- tation technology. Mushrooms are the flowering fruits of an underground network of cells that communicate and coordinate their activities. The net- works can be large; the largest living organism on Earth is thought to be a honey fungus living in the Blue Mountains of western Oregon that encompasses four square miles. Similarly in trucking, it takes a lot of data and coordination to achieve safe, profitable, on-time and damage-free deliveries day after day. Much of the information that managers and drivers need to plan and execute these activities comes from mobile networks with sensors, as well as machines that have an Internet connection with software applications in the cloud. San Diego-based Mushroom Networks recently introduced a portable high-speed Internet ap- pliance called Portabella – with "Porta" being short for "portable." The device could have an impact on the transportation industry. Fleets traditionally have sub- scribed to a single mobile commu- nications provider to have a satellite technology 34 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | AUGUST 2015 or cellular connection with their vehicles. The cab's computing device often can switch between cellular, satellite and Wi-Fi to extend coverage and lower costs. Portabella works by pooling data plans from up to six different wire- less carriers to deliver the best combination of speed and reliable cellular coverage. With the pooling or sharing of data plans, installing multiple SIM cards in one device is not any more expensive than subscribing to a single data plan for each truck, and a customer can do things that otherwise are not pos- sible due to the bandwidth limitations of a single connection, said Dr. Cahit Akin, co-founder and chief executive of Mushroom Networks. How it works All major wireless carriers such as Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile allow subscribers to pool or share data plans among multiple devices. Whether customers have one or six lines, they pay the same monthly rate with pricing based on data usage rather than the number of SIM cards activated. The Portabella can be used as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for applications and sensors that need an Internet connection at the vehicle level, and also to maintain a reliable high- speed nationwide cellular connection to cloud- based fleet management applications. Some possibilities include live videoconferencing with drivers, offering training inside or outside the cab, streaming live video from an accident scene and al- DATA AND COORDINATION: It takes a lot to maintain safe, protable, on-time and damage- free deliveries. BEST COMBINATION: Portabella pools data plans from up to six dierent wireless carriers for fast, reliable coverage. INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY: Mobile broadband Internet access will be more wide- spread and aordable. MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF 'Portabella' mushrooms being served in trucking Who will byte? Mushroom Networks' Portabella 7200i supports SIM slots for up to six embedded modems.

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