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John Moore, sales and marketing director at Alpha Micro, said the new distributor agreement covers embedded and 3G M2M modules from Sierra Wireless.

“At the moment, our main areas are GSM or 2G and GPRS or 2.5G, so this allows us to move higher data speeds into different markets,” he said.

Moore said digital signage holds big potential for M2M communications. Users could update billboards and similar remotely over the air, for instance.

The faster speed of 3G modules means that communications happens faster and video can be supported as well. And as it is an emerging technology, few competitors exist in the UK currently, Moore said.

“Service providers have paid a lot of money for 3G plans and it is in their interest to get more people on to that network,” he said.

As 3G pricing comes down over the next two or three years, more uptake will be seen. Alpha Micro is getting in early with a view to gradual sales growth as 3G adoption increases, Moore said.

The word concomitance means “co-existing” or “effecting while simultaneously effected by.” As such, the word is an apt descriptor for the expanding relationship between digital signage and cellular technology.

The positioning of out-of-home digital signage has this concomitance generating keen interest, indicated by the planning and spending of ad agencies, brand managers, network operators and wireless carriers.

With one billion mobile devices being shipped annually, they constitute the largest segment of the consumer electronics device market, according to Stuart Carlaw, VP and research director of ABI Research. That means cellular and other wireless merits consideration by the digital signage industry.

The benefits of triggering a download or mobile transaction provide brands with the high levels of engagement that accelerate brand-building. Communicators are catching onto this fast.

Jupiter Research reported the North American mobile commerce revenue in 2007 to be $505 million and forecasts it to grow to $1.9 billion in 2010. This is fueled by increased adoption of mobile Internet.

Comscore TKG projects growth to 92 million users in 2012 from 32 million in 2007, with highest usage, at 45 percent, being the Millenials demographic of hard-to-reach 18-24-year-olds. The next group, 27-40-year-old Gen X-ers, represents 27 percent of users, and 41-50-year-old “Baby Boomers” represent 17 percent.

The IBM Institute for Business Value Analysis reported that the highest compound annual growth rates (CAGR) for global advertising spending are being realized in mobile advertising at 41 percent, followed by 20 percent for Internet and 19 percent for each of interactive TV and in-game advertising.

Read also New applications for mobile-driven digital signage.

Wireless carriers are taking note of the high value that they can bring to digital signage while it simultaneously returns the favor. Concomitance of the two media means a co-existing “win” for every part of the supply chain, from network suppliers to operators to advertisers to viewers.

“Cellular and mobile broadband use for media networks leverages the network reach, reliability and security built into networks, like the Nationwide Sprint network, that successfully carry millions of digital transmissions daily,” said Steve Rowley, director of indirect distribution for Sprint. “Digital signage will increasingly take advantage of what cellular offers.”

Walsh Wireless, a Sprint reseller, is one provider that is looking specifically at optimizing and using cellular technology to enhance digital signage.

“End users of digital signage want to focus on their core business of retail, hospitality or services, and benefit from the ease and confidence that gaining a complete, turnkey display network can provide,” said Chick Walsh, chief strategy officer of Walsh Wireless.

Three benefits of cellular/digital signage concomitance

There are three benefits for carriers seeking more average revenue per user (ARPR) from digital signage-cellular integration.

1. Taking advantage of cellular networks. The first key benefit is using cellular networks to connect digital signs. Using cellular connectivity offers speed and ease to deploy, location flexibility and a lower cost of operating a network.

Companies such as MediaTile, Adshift and NEC are providing cellular-enabled “digital-signage-in-a-box” products, and system integrators such as Walsh Wireless are bringing the two technologies together.

For more information, click to download the guide “How to Network Signs With Cellular Technology.”

“The use of cellular connectivity for digital signage underpins the rapid path toward more flexible deployment and lower costs of operations,” said Keith Kelsen, CEO of MediaTile.

2. Using screens for a mobile call to action. A second benefit is found in mobile phone downloads that can be triggered by digital signage content. The words “text to download” provide viewer engagement and dramatically extend the value of digital signage.

The download could be a schedule, procedure, information, coupon, wallpaper or ringtone. Reference has been made to digital signage being a “middle media” that explains this communications supply-chain positioning of digital signage.

Read also Digital signage as a middle media platform.

3. Digital signage as a mobile merchandising tool. The third benefit is in the mobile Internet browsing sessions and mobile transactions that can be triggered by digital signage.

Optinion Research Corp. said that one out of three U.S. mobile users are currently accessing the Web with their mobiles, and 50 percent of those people are doing so three or more times per week.

For more information, click to download the “Digital Merchandising” guide.

Hossein Mousavi, EVP & co-founder of mporia, an m-commerce provider, reports that merchants of all sizes are moving to mobile Web to enable mobile commerce, with a 300-percent adoption rate of merchant subscriptions per quarter.

Communications supply chains are a continuously growing and optimizing entity. As digital signage is increasingly geared toward information provisioning, cellular and other forms of wireless, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, WiMax and satellite, will optimize the application while reducing deployment and operating complexity and cost. Cellular will both offer and enjoy benefits – “concomitance.”

Digi-AdServices Network (DSN), a digital signage systems provider, today announced that its new cellular based digital sign network system has completed final testing. The new full wireless digital sign network system called DSN3G represents the next evolutionary phase of digital out of home signage deployment. The DSN3G system has been developed in response to requests to provide a system that can be installed and administered without interfering with existing IT network infrastructures. Now businesses around the world can “disconnect” from traditional hardwired networks and “reconnect” in a fully wireless environment. Cables and routers are no longer required as each DSN3G system is accessible via a cellular connection through a web based interface.

The only requirement for a DSN3G digital sign network is the ability to receive a cellular signal and an electrical outlet. The system has been designed for ease of use without I.T. department involvement or expensive supporting network infrastructure. “The digital media player’s web-based interface is intuitive and extremely easy to use” says DSN3G CTO Eric Dytzel. “Network status reports are generated automatically and on demand providing information on the status of not only the media player but the digital display monitor. Changes to displays are immediate and updates are easy to handle.”

In addition to controlling the display of each monitor on the network, DSN3G’s web interface allows for control of the digital monitor itself by locking down the ability to turn the monitor on or off as well as volume control. “The ease of use of this system is truly remarkable” says Cecil Chaney, DSN3G Chief Operating Officer. “DSN3G is designed to be installed and deployed at any level from single owner proprietorships to Fortune 500 companies in need of a one hundred screen or more installation anywhere in the United States. We can serve all segments of the market, large or small.” In addition to the deployment of new digital signage networks, DSN3G’s cellular based system is perfect for retrofitting existing hard wired digital sign networks. “The less equipment and infrastructure involved in a digital signage network the less chance for a problem or equipment malfunction” says Cecil. “We have taken out one of the major hurdles to digital sign deployments.”

DSN3G is a full service digital signage network provider located in Madisonville, Kentucky providing total out of home advertising solutions to small and large businesses. For more information on cellular based digital sign networks contact DSN3G at www.DSN3G.com or call 270-836-6096 or 270-836-6772

Whether a digital signage network is small or large, one of the biggest problems encountered during the deployment of the network is the supporting infrastructure. Modems, routers, switches, cat-5 cables and everything that goes with the installation and cable runs can be a major hurdle, not to mention having to get the IT department to sign off on anything that touches the existing network. Take that and couple it with the increased bandwidth usage of the existing network and your headaches mount.

Enter a cellular / wireless digital based signage network. A major part of the traditional network equation has been removed. The advantages of a cellular based digital signage network can be immediately recognized. Simply place the monitor and plug into a standard power outlet and it is wirelessly connected to the network. All updates are sent via a wireless 3G signal and signs are maintained without touching the host network.

Advances in existing communications systems are making the deployment of everything from billboard sized advertising to mobile phone sized advertising easier by the day. It is truely exciting to think where we will be in ten years.