Digital Signage Connectivity
Always-On Screens. Verified Audiences. Edge AI.
Cellular connectivity, edge analytics, and CMS integration in one stack.
The Three Connectivity Problems Digital Signage Has
Digital signage and DOOH networks operate in a different reality from indoor retail or POS.
Three problems dominate:
No reliable wired internet.
Outdoor screens in plazas, transit shelters, stadium
walkways, and building exteriors. Running cabling is expensive or impossible.
Estimated audiences = discounted CPMs.
Without verified impressions, advertisers
discount rates by 25–30%. The operator leaves real money on the table.
Vendor sprawl.
A typical DOOH operator runs hardware from one vendor, cellular from
a second, CMS from a third, and analytics from a fourth. Outage triage starts with finger-pointing
The signage-specific value proposition: solve all three with one stack: Pronto.
Cellular-First Connectivity for Outdoor Signage
For outdoor digital signage, cellular shouldn't be a backup. It should be the primary link.
Deployment speed.
Cellular activates the moment the screen is powered up. No ISP
install, no wait. A new outdoor sign goes from delivered to live in under an hour.
Site flexibility.
Move the sign, move the connectivity. The cellular link follows the
screen. No port turnup, no demarc, no carrier escalation.
Multi-carrier resilience.
Outdoor sites are often at the edge of one carrier's coverage.
Pronto's multi-carrier eSIM picks the best signal at each location automatically.
Recommended architecture
PC64 cellular router
Mounted behind each screen: compact form factor, seamless
install.
Multi-carrier eSIM
Built in with bundled data plans sized for content delivery and
analytics upload.
PC64 Edge AI
For screens where audience measurement adds revenue.
Edge AI Changes the Unit Economics of DOOH
| Before PC64-AI | After PC64-AI |
|---|---|
| Audiences estimated from traffic studies | Verified impression counts every 5 seconds |
| CPMs priced on rough demographic models | Demographic mix (age band + gender) tracked anonymously |
| Advertisers apply 25-30% discount on estimated impressions | 42% CPM uplift – advertisers pay full rate for verified impressions |
| – | $1.8M additional annual ad revenue across 400-screen network |
The math at smaller scale: a 50-screen network with $200K in annual ad revenue underestimated impressions would see roughly $84K in incremental annual revenue from the sameCPM uplift. Payback on PC64-AI hardware in under 6 months.
Verified Audience Measurement: How It Works
Edge AI keeps processing local and data clean. No video leaves the device.
- Camera captures the screen's viewing area. Mounted at each PC64-AI-equipped screen.
- Vision inference runs locally. The model detects: human count, rough age band, gender mix, dwell time.
- No PII transmitted. Faces are not identified, stored, or uploaded. Only counts and anonymized metadata leaves the device.
- Metadata uploaded to cloud controller. Combined with content-delivery logs to produce per-screen, per-content audience reports.
- Reports feed the bidding engine. Advertisers see verified impressions; CPM rates reflect real reach.
Privacy positioning: Edge AI is a regulatory advantage over cloud-based vision systems. Bykeeping frames on-device and emitting only counts, Pronto stays outside the GDPR / CCPAsurface area for video data.
CMS Platform Integration
Pronto’s REST API and webhook system can integrate with major signage CMS platforms:
- Broadsign - unified content and Pronto audience data feeds Broadsign's bidding engine.
- Scala - content delivery triggers from Pronto's connectivity health events.
- Navori - custom integration via Pronto webhooks for play-out logging.
- Signagelive - Pronto powers the connectivity layer; Signagelive owns CMS and scheduling.
The pattern: Pronto manages connectivity, audience data, and edge AI. Your CMS managescontent, scheduling, and play-out. The two-systems exchange data through APIs.
For DOOH Ad Networks
If you operate a DOOH ad network, the question isn’t whether to add audience measurement –
it’s how fast you can roll it out before competitors do. The 42% CPM uplift compounds across
every screen, every month.
Recommended deployment sequence:
- Pilot 50 screens with PC64-AI (3-month pilot, measure verified impression delta vs. estimated baseline).
- Roll out to the top-performing 30% of inventory, highest-CPM markets first.
- Negotiate new advertiser agreements based on verified impressions - many will pay premium for measured reach.
- Scale across the full network as PC64-AI hardware budget allows.
For AV Integrators
AV integrators installing digital signage at QSR, retail, and corporate sites can bundle Pronto
cellular + edge AI as part of every install. The reseller economics:
- 35–45% hardware margin on PC64, PC64-AI, and PC51.
- Recurring eSIM revenue on bundled cellular plans.
- Sticky service contract - analytics-as-a-service for end clients.
This mirrors the POS reseller program, with similar margin structures and recurring connectivityrevenue. Contact Pronto's partner team to enroll.
Pronto vs. Signage-Specific Competitors
| Capability | Pronto | BrightSign Mobile | Cradlepoint | Sierra Wireless |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cellular built-in |  Yes |
Limited | Yes |
Yes |
| Edge AI / vision inference | Yes (PC64-AI) |
 No |
No |
No |
| Verified audience measurement | Yes (anonymized) |
No |
No |
No |
| Multi-carrier eSIM | Yes |
No |
Limited | Limited |
| CMS API integration | Yes (REST + webhooks) |
Yes (signage) |
Limited | Limited |
| Wi-Fi analytics | Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| Cloud fees | $0/lifetime | Per device | $120–360/yr | $80–200/yr |
Your Questions, Answered by Intelligence
We’ve engineered Pronto to simplify complex enterprise networks. Here’s how it all comes together — from setup to scalability.
Is edge AI for audience measurement GDPR / CCPA compliant?
Yes. Pronto's edge AI processes video frames locally on the PC64-AI device. Only anonymized
counts and demographic metadata are uploaded – no images, no face data, no PII. This
architecture keeps you outside the regulatory surface area for video data under GDPR, CCPA,
and most US state privacy laws.
What's the typical 12-month ROI for PC64-AI on a DOOH network?
Based on the 42% CPM uplift observed in a 400-screen deployment, a 50-screen network
generating $200K in annual ad revenue could see roughly $84K in incremental revenue annually. Most networks reach hardware payback in under 6 months.
Can I run my own ML models on PC64-AI?
Yes. PC64-AI is designed for custom inference workloads. Contact Pronto to discuss supported frameworks and deployment options for proprietary models.
How does Pronto integrate with Broadsign, Scala, or Navori?
Pronto exposes a REST API and webhook system. For Broadsign, audience data feeds directly into the bidding engine. For Scala and Navori, integration uses Pronto webhooks for play-out logging and connectivity health events. Custom integration specs are available from Pronto's technical team.
What if my screens already have wired internet - do I still need cellular?
Not necessarily. Cellular can serve as an active failover for wired-connected screens – keeping content live if the ISP link drops. For outdoor or off-premises screens, cellular as primary is the
most deployment-efficient approach.
Is the 42% CPM uplift typical or specific to one customer?
The 42% figure comes from one 400-screen DOOH deployment. The underlying driver –
replacing estimated with verified impressions – applies broadly across DOOH. The uplift magnitude depends on your current CPM, advertiser mix, and baseline discount. Pronto recommends a 50-screen pilot to establish your specific delta before full rollout.
What's the failure mode if the cellular link drops?
Pronto supports multi-carrier eSIM, which significantly reduces the chance of total link loss. Content delivery can continue locally from cached assets, and audience measurement data buffers on device until connectivity is restored.