Published in Careers In Gear Magazine, May, 2009

Professional Truck driving often means pulling over for the night and sleeping in remote areas where things like electrical hookups and cable access might as well be alien technology. Because of this inconvenience, many drivers have decided to make some hefty investments in small A/C generators and portable satellite systems, but the nightly frustration of setting up and breaking down the mass of equipment can be troublesome at best. Thankfully, the inconvenience of present technology is exactly what caused AT&T to engineer a new mobile satellite system, with a release date of spring 2009, that doesn’t require continuous setup or adjustments, works on the go, and combines satellite radio with satellite television.

According to a press release on cruisecast.com, Winston Gullery, President of RaySat Broadcasting Corp., calls CruiseCast a “significant advancement from what is in the market today, both in terms of technology and channel offerings…” And though Gullery has a personal interest in the product, RaySat also offers a “test drive” for prospective customers by allowing the system to be used in Avis and Budget Rent-A-Car autos, along with retail sales dealerships across the country.

Forget those remote places where the cell phone doesn’t work, and not a single radio station comes in. CruiseCast offers subscribers a unique solution that picks up a satellite signal for both radio and television, but doesn’t have the typical signal-cut-out while cruising up the highway. The mobile technology makes continuous play possible by storing up to three minutes of the satellite feed in its 1GB memory so that line-of-sight obstacles such as overpasses, high rise buildings, and even long tunnels become no obstacle at all for enjoying the full transmission. Finally; a technology is available that allows both listeners and viewers to enjoy their favorite satellite programming, without the typical inconveniences that cause most users to shut their systems down in frustration.

CruiseCast also makes available a diverse array of channels, including Disney, Animal Planet, Comedy Central, CNN, MSNBC, Cartoon Network Mobile, and too many more to be listed here. There are 22 satellite television channels and 20 satellite radio stations in all; each of which are received through a sleek, low-profile antenna system that needs no adjustments or extensions. The antenna, retailing at around $1300.00, mounts to the roof of nearly any vehicle, and the service costs an affordable $28.00 per month; not bad for top of the line mobile entertainment technology. Because of the diverse array of entertainment offered, users can keep their programming as family-friendly or indulge in adult-only programming as they wish, plus they can modify the settings at any time.

CruiseCast was made available to the public through a partnership created between the Raysat Broadcasting Corporation and Intelsat, ltd., the world’s largest provider of satellite services, who has provided HD to its subscribers for 20 years previous to the release of CruiseCast technology. Intelsat’s Galaxy 25 satellite will be carrying and broadcasting the signal, while the signal itself originates from AT&T’s broadcast center.

With the world of entertainment technology evolving this rapidly and economically, it is no surprise that AT&T CruiseCast has been made available to the public so soon after the mere idea of mobile satellite technology dawned on Satcom engineers. The only question remaining in consumer’s minds at this point is: How will anyone manage to further improve upon this technology?

Further information about AT&T CruiseCast and it’s 2009 release can be found at www.cruisecast.com, where a fully interactive display provides a 3-dimensional vehicle view and information about the system’s components and features.