Barcelona | Big surprise at ISE 2024 – Deutsche Telekom is back in the DooH market. Together with PPDS and Tennagels Medientechnik, the Bonn-based telecommunications group is developing an ePaper-based DooH concept for their outdoor housings.
Sustainability meets DooH – PPDS signed an impressive framework agreement with Deutsche Telekom. The German telecommunication provider, together with Tennagels Medientechnik, is developing a new DooH concept for roadside Telekom outdoor housings based on Philips Tableaux ePaper displays.
It is not the first attempt to market Deutsche Telekom’s outdoor housings. Although not stated explicitley, invidis concludes that this deal is about the more than 300,000 DSL cable distributors the company has placed all around Germany. Now, for the first time, Telekom is relying on energy-saving ePaper. The gray roadside housings are omnipresent throughout Germany and are ideal as DooH infrastructure. With electricity and internet available, there has still been a lack of acceptance of bright displays in public spaces outside of big cities.
Here comes PPDS with the energy-saving and non-backlit ePaper displays. Philips’ full-color 32″ ePaper digital signage solutions are intended to become the platform for Deutsche Telekom’s new DooH initiative. The telecommunications group tried to gain a foothold in the German Out-of-Home market for the first time in 2010. In competition with Ströer and Wall, the Bonn-based company had tried – unsuccessfully – to build a new business area with innovative concepts.
Back into the DooH market, Deutsche Telekom is basing its new solution on the currently most energy-efficient digital signage technology out there, ePaper by E-ink. The Philips Tableaux screens, which rely on this technology, display a static image without light emission and use only very little power when changing the content. PPDS ePaper displays are equipped with a standard Android SoC and Power-over-Ethernet and can therefore be operated without a battery. PPDS’ own Wave platform is available for remote device management.
PPDS ePaper from E-ink
Martijn van der Woude, VP Global Marketing and Business Development, said: “Sustainability in operations is becoming increasingly important for companies around the world, as is reducing energy consumption. By developing new possibilities with our Philips Tableaux ePaper displays, we can offer the advertising industry a new era of more sustainable digital out-of-home communication.”
In cooperation with Tennagels
In collaboration with the Düsseldorf-based digital signage integrator Tennagels Medientechnik, Deutsche Telekom will design and roll out a new DooH concept. The integration of the Philips Tableaux ePaper displays into Deutsche Telekom’s DooH ecosystem is scheduled to begin in summer 2024 with a field test in Germany.
Nadia Riahi, Sales Manager Signage DE at PPDS, said: “We are pleased to support Deutsche Telekom and help them achieve a goal that was simply not possible before the launch of the Philips Tableaux series.”
Michael Tölle, Head of Media & Analytics at Telekom Deutschland, added: “Philips Tableaux ePaper displays based on the E Ink Spectra 6 platform offer the most sustainable way to digitize out-of-home on our distribution boxes as they do not emit light and use almost zero energy. We look forward to testing the 32-inch Tableaux ePaper next month together with PPDS and Tennagels Medientechnik in order to jointly adapt the product to our company.”
Thomas Tennagels, founder of Tennagels Medientechnik, added: “Tennagels will develop a tailor-made housing that is specifically tailored to the requirements of the Telekom digital signage concept and to the requirements of the Philips Tableaux e-paper display.” Our engineers are focused not only to protect against the elements in any climate, but also to design a vandal-proof solution for unprotected public outdoor areas.”
The challenge for Tennagels is to design a display housing that can be perfectly adapted to the existing Telekom multifunctional housing and thus fits seamlessly into the overall picture of the Telekom digital signage solution. And not only functional, for example in ensuring the electromagnetic compatibility of the existing sensitive telecom technology, but also maintenance-friendly and aesthetically appealing.
invidis analysis
Out-of-Home on Telekom distribution boxes wouldn’t be a new development – thousands of the gray boxes are already equipped with small-format poster holders for mostly regional cultural advertising. But instead of print, the distribution boxes will soon be used digitally. ePapers in 32″ format are an innovative and sustainable technology platform that is also accepted by the public.
For PPDS, the Telekom framework agreement is the largest ePaper order to date and proof that sustainable digital signage platforms are in demand on the market, even in large quantities.
Florian Rotberg