Roadhouse Coach Chooses Sprint and TopGlobal for High Speed Mobile Internet

Roadhouse Coach

Roadhouse Coach operates a fleet of 26 luxury coaches that are leased primarily to entertainers. The 30-year-old company is based in central Texas and has a host of high-profile clients including entertainers and rock stars.

OBJECTIVE
When Roadhouse leased out its first bus in 1976, celebrity ground transportation was in its infancy. Thirty years later, business has changed dramatically. Entertainers who once got to their shows by plane now eschew the hassles of flying and travel first-class on the highway. Luxury benefits like satellite TV are the norm, but mobile Internet access was one thing that Roadhouse didn’t offer. Wi-Fi coverage was only available while parked—generally when the artist was busy doing a show—which didn’t offer much benefit to the client. Roadhouse needed a solution that would work while they were driving. Since the Internet is now used for business as well as pleasure, it became critical for customers to be able to get online while in transit to handle their day-to-day personal and professional matters. Moreover, mobile Internet was an important way for the company to differentiate itself from the competition.

SOLUTION DESCRIPTION
In researching potential wireless Internet options, Roadhouse talked with Dave Lowder, founder of Wireless Highway, the major wireless services provider to the entertainment coach industry. Lowder recommended using a 3G-powered wireless router, which turned out to be a plug-and-play solution. The MobileBridge MB8000 gateway from Top Global interfaces externally with the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. Inside the coach, the router broadcasts its connectivity to the outside world via a standard Wi-Fi signal, so multiple laptops can access the Internet simultaneously. "In essence, it turns a bus going 65 miles an hour into a wireless hot spot on wheels," says Blake Olson, operations manager for Roadhouse Coach. "You just turn on the Wi-Fi-enabled laptop, search for the MobileBridge SSID, click and connect. And it’s so simple we don’t need a dedicated staff person to support it and there is virtually no downtime. Usually all a driver has to do is unplug the router and plug it back in if there is a problem."

SYNOPSIS

www.roadhousecoach.com

COMPANY
• Roadhouse Coach operates a fleet of 26 luxury coaches that are leased primarily to entertainers. The 30-year-old company is based in central Texas and has a host of high-profile clients including entertainers and rock stars.

OBJECTIVE
• Satisfy customer demands for Internet access on the road
• Create a point of differentiation for the company

SOLUTION
• Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO Rev. A)
• Top Global MobileBridge MB8000 wireless routers
• Wireless Highway wireless services provider

RESULTS
• Received strong returns on less than a $1,000 capital investment per coach
• Increased both repeat business and new client acquisition