Signs of the Times

On my morning commute, I couldn’t help but draw the analogy between the business value that 4G brings to the digital signage market with flying cars.  A strange thought, true, but while stuck in traffic, I began to ponder the problems LAN and Wi-Fi networks present to digital signage as being similar to roads and infrastructure, and how 3G and 4G completely eliminates these barriers.

LAN and Wi-Fi networks, like roads, limit where you can go, and are costly deploy and maintain.  If you’re relying on LAN and Wi-Fi “ip-roads” for digital signage, you can realistically only deploy signage where ip-roads currently exist, create your own ip-roads at a significant cost, face long-term ip-road maintenance fees, and continue to deal with ip-road traffic, especially during rush hour.  Even if you’ve got sophisticated network management gear, you might be able to create a special commute lane and manage traffic, but again, you’re dealing with lots of costly infrastructure. 

3G and 4G networks, like flying cars, allow you to go (deploy) wherever you want; you won’t be dealing with all the other traffic on the road, you have the ability to go as fast as the bandwidth allows – as fast, or even faster, than the traffic below.  Sprint’s 4G network delivers 3-6 Mbps download rates, plenty to get your media to its destination quickly and securely.  And even from a security standpoint, you’re not subject to having to “park” your player on an ip-road, where it can be seen and potentially broken (hacked) into.  You’re on your own private and secure 4G road in the air.  For these and other important advantages of 3G / 4G digital signage, please check out this whitepaper from Digital Signage Today.

Unlike 4G services, which are now in more than 30 markets and growing, the promise of flying cars is still a ways off, but getting closer.  You can learn more about the first commercial flying car or visit Terrafugia and even put your $10,000 deposit down for an early order!