Thursday, February 1, 2001
What can you do in 240 seconds? That's the average time it takes a
person to fill up her gas tank. And Ten Square(TM) (San Jose, CA; www.tensquare.com) thinks most of that time
is wasted.
So last week the company launched a technology that will flash ads
and coupons onto gas pump and ATM screens. The company calls this pre-existing,
Internet-based infrastructure "the OuterNet," claiming that Americans conduct
300 million transactions per day there, compared to the scant 60 million times
that Americans go online daily.
Ten Square calls itself a broadcasting and publishing company,
since it has plans to deliver more than mere coupons. Keep an eye on that gas
pump screen for driving directions, movie tickets, restaurant menus, weather
warnings, traffic news, and even that cliché of milk carton advertising, missing
child pictures.
The wireless area network (WAN) that makes this possible can even
download a driver's favorite videos and MP3 song files, using sufficient
bandwidth to transfer a song in about a minute. And since many cars now boast
on-board diagnostic computers, the cars can tell the pumps that they need an oil
change, or the left rear tire is a little flat.
The system launched Jan. 24 at 2,800 gas stations and convenience
stores in 20 U.S. cities, thanks to Ten Square's partnerships with more than 40
petroleum retailers.
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