KEY INSIGHTS

A leading Live Video Broadcast & Digital Signage Company required hundreds of 4G USB modems to power customer live feeds and digital signage advertising. These end-of-life devices were extremely difficult to procure, and only ConnectUs was able to deliver the quantity needed in a short time frame.

• Over 400 hard to find 4G USB modems shipped
• Several hundred in stock shipped immediately
• Devices fully kitted and labelled
• No other provider had the device in stock

SITUATION

Leading live stream provider and digital sign company stuck without modems

Live video streaming continues to increase in popularity for news, sports and many other content based media brands. Digital signage also has seen impressive growth over recent years. In fact, the global digital sign market is expected to expand to $31.7 billion by 2025 with a CAGR of 8%. In terms of shipments, growth is anticipated to reach 6.45 million units by 2025. 

A leading Live Broadcast & Digital Signage Company had been using Novatel 4G USB modems for many of its media deployments. However, the devices are no longer being manufactured, and it has become nearly impossible to find them. The Company’s customers required the devices to power their signage and video setups.

OBJECTIVE

Locate hundreds of end-of-life 4G USB modems quickly

The up front investment for video broadcasting and digital signage is significant. Being hardware dependent, when a device gets phased out of production, it presents significant challenges in regards to compatibility issues.

Rather than replace entire fleets of video broadcasting equipment, the Company decided to continue supporting existing assemblies. This meant finding hundreds of 4G USB modems compatible with other existing hardware.

APPROACH

Scan the market to acquire hard to find 4G USB modem devices

The Live Broadcasting & Digital Signage Company reached out to multiple providers. These other providers did not have the required modem in stock, and they could not provide any notion of acquisition date. 

Subsequently, the Company contacted their Tier 1 Carrier representative who referred them to ConnectUs. The proven ability to provide hard to find devices makes ConnectUs the go to solution in these difficult situations.

RESULTS

Over 400 hard to find devices kitted and delivered fast

ConnectUs had several hundred of the Novatel 4G USB modems already in stock. These were kitted and labelled to ensure the device barcodes could easily be scanned and assigned to each of the Company’s customers upon deployment. They devices were then shipped immediately. 

Nobody else in the industry could provide these discontinued devices. Following the initial shipment, the remaining units were received, kitted and shipped in a matter of weeks. Other device providers could not commit to any time frame at all.

The media broadcast Company was able to successfully procure the devices from ConnectUS and meet tight deadlines for their advertising network of customers. The Company will continue to use ConnectUs for future device fulfillment needs.