The idea
A small monitoring device is fitted to each illuminated sign, either at the workshop when the sign is made or on site for signs already mounted. It reports over the mobile network whether the sign is lit. When a sign fails, the monitoring platform raises an alert and creates a repair job for the technicians, who go and fix it, often before the retailer notices.
Sold as a monthly subscription per sign. Scope for now: illuminated signs only, not other in-store equipment.
Why it matters to the sign maker
- Find failures before the client complains, which helps meet maintenance-contract response times.
- Fewer wasted trips: technicians know which sign failed, when, and how (fully dark or partly dark).
- A new recurring revenue line on every sign sold, and a reason for clients to choose us over other sign makers.
What we found Research complete
Overall
The model works elsewhere: in Germany, Lichtwart sells exactly this through sign makers, at €399 hardware plus €8 a month, about €13.40 per sign per month over five years. We found no one in the Baltics selling monitoring for static illuminated signs yet. The closest local player, impressBox (Vilnius), monitors digital screens and is testing LED fault detection from power use (beta), the same method we would use. Ready-made certified devices and cheap mobile connectivity mean a pilot fits within about €10k. Lithuania alone is a small market, so the long-term business is Baltic-wide.
| Topic | Finding |
|---|---|
| Devices | Ready-made devices exist. They cost about €15 for Wi-Fi smart relays, about €60–150 for LoRaWAN plus a gateway, and about €80–210 for devices with their own mobile connection. The most reliable way to detect failure is to measure the sign's power with an in-line meter, which also catches partial failures. Many clip-on clamps can't read the low current of an LED sign (under 1–2 A). A meter wired after the sign's timer can't tell "switched off on schedule" from "broken", so the device must handle that. |
| Connectivity | Use a device with LTE-M, with NB-IoT and 2G as fallback. In Lithuania:
|
| Rules | Fitting a device to a sign already on a building is electrical installation work up to 1000 V. It needs a VERT installation attestation, held by a company or an individual electrician, with attested staff (Energy Law Art. 22; VERT ruling O3E-1388). Fitting at the workshop is likely product assembly, to be confirmed with VERT; connecting the finished sign on site still needs an attested installer. Outdoor illuminated advertising on TN supply systems must be protected by a 30 mA residual-current breaker (Lighting Installation Rules, point 50), and normal leakage must stay at about 10 mA or less, so the device's own leakage counts. Certifying our own device is estimated at about €12–40k (an EU Commission study puts cybersecurity testing alone at €5–50k+), so the pilot uses already-certified devices under their original brand. Putting our own brand on a device would make us its legal manufacturer (RED Art. 13). Outdoor advertising still needs a municipal permit (Advertising Law Art. 12). No rule covers hidden internal parts; a visible box may breach the approved design, especially in heritage zones. |
| Market | Fuel stations and pharmacies have the most signs, followed by grocery chains (Maxima, Iki, Rimi, Lidl, Norfa), telecom shops, banks and fast food. If every Lithuanian sign subscribed at €5 a month, revenue would be about €0.5M a year. A realistic share is lower, which is why the Baltics matter. Store counts checked in October 2026: Maxima 241, Iki 245+, Rimi 87, Lidl 87, Norfa 159; Camelia ~350, Eurovaistinė 260+, Gintarinė 250+, BENU 80+ (1,227 pharmacies in total); Viada 133, Circle K 99, Neste 85, Orlen 30. The estimate may count some signs twice where pharmacies and telecom shops sit inside malls or grocery stores. |
Reference: Lichtwart (Germany)
The closest comparable company. lichtwart.io
- Company: LichtWART GmbH, Herford. Founded 2020 by Gregor Giataganas and Johannes Mailänder; Jackson Bond (co-founder of relayr) joined in 2024. It sells together with Deutsche Telekom, whose IoT cloud and SIM the product runs on.
- Customers named on its site: Hoyer (owns 300+ fuel stations; pioneer customer with a gradual rollout), VARTA, HanseMerkur, OKTAN, MHB Mobility, LOTHER Gruppe. Ströer's Blowup billboards cut energy use by 52% with Lichtwart (Feb 2026). Lichtwart itself reports 250+ modules and 35+ operators across Europe, so it is still small.
- Price: €399 hardware + €8 a month cloud + €24 SIM for 60 months, published on its sign-maker page (wetec.lichtwart.io). Older DALI-based modules were reported at €700–1,600 each (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2023).
- Pitch beyond failure alerts: remote dimming and timers ("up to 60% lower electricity costs"), lower light emissions to help win building permits under Germany's immission-control law, ESG reporting data, and monitoring of other equipment such as car-wash leaks.
- Sales channel: sign manufacturers fit the module and get access for administration and billing. Retrofit needs DALI-compatible LED drivers.
- What it implies for us (illustrative): at about €13.40 per sign per month, €1M a year of recurring revenue needs about 6,200 signs, close to the size of the whole Lithuanian chain-sign market. Energy savings and permit help may be stronger selling points than failure alerts alone.
Sources: lichtwart.io; wetec.lichtwart.io; case-study.lichtwart.io; Lichtwart funding press release (Sep 2024); Founders Foundation; Handelsregister HRB 16999 (Amtsgericht Bad Oeynhausen) via North Data; Dealroom; gritt.io; LinkedIn; invidis (Feb 2026); Süddeutsche Zeitung. Checked 9 October 2026.
Other players to know
- impressBox (UAB Dėžutė, Vilnius): digital-screen management for 5,000+ screens in the Baltics, €15–19 per screen per month, customers including Benu, IKI, Narvesen, Drogas and Medicija. It is testing LED fault detection from power use (beta), the closest local threat and a possible partner.
- Telia, Bitė, Tele2: sell IoT connectivity and management platforms, not sign monitoring. Telia builds monitoring solutions with partners and promotes energy monitoring for retail chains, so it could become a partner or a competitor.
- Civinity: runs remote building management for Rimi (Lithuania and Latvia) and Neste Lithuania. It could add signs, so it is a possible partner or rival.
- Teltonika (Vilnius): devices we would build on, not a competing product.
- Street-lighting control: Lucidus/Citylight and Lusety (Lithuania), MAUGLO (Latvia), Elero (Estonia). Similar technology, a different market.
- Elsewhere in Europe: Lumosoft/Lumosigns (Netherlands and UK, launched April 2025), Neopaul (Belgium, remote monitoring of illuminated signs), Pharmédias (France, connected pharmacy crosses). Outside Europe: Outdoorlink (US, billboard lighting alerts).
Device costs Estimate
Price of the monitoring device itself, without installation. Retail prices found online, checked October 2026; volume prices will be lower. Excl. VAT unless marked (add 21% in Lithuania); pound and dollar prices converted approximately.
Decision: the device has its own mobile connection
Most sites won't give access to store Wi-Fi, and chain IT departments rarely allow outside devices on their network. So the device must work without store Wi-Fi, on its own mobile connection (LTE-M / NB-IoT, with 2G as fallback). Wi-Fi devices such as Shelly are kept only as an exception, for sites where Wi-Fi or a separate router is already available.
A. Required for the main kit (mains-powered, recommended)
Everything one sign needs for the system to work end to end.
| Item | Qty per sign | Price | Why it's needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teltonika TRB256 (or TRB255) | 1 | ~€98–120 | Reads the meter and sends data over LTE-M/NB-IoT. Lithuanian maker; DIN-rail mountable. |
| Eastron SDM120 Modbus (SDM120M, MID) | 1 per group of up to ~6–8 drivers | ~€33–40 | Measures the sign's power, voltage and kWh |
| DIN power supply 230 V AC → 12 V DC, ~15 W (e.g. Mean Well HDR-15-12) | 1 | ~€10–15 | Powers the Teltonika from the permanent supply |
| Circuit breaker 2 A, 1-pole | 1 | ~€4–8 | Protects the electronics circuit |
| IoT SIM card (1NCE, Telia or Bitė) | 1 | ~€13 for 10 years, or ~€1.6–2.5/month | Mobile connection |
| IP65 enclosure with DIN rail, 6–8 modules | 1 | ~€15–30 | Houses everything, inside a lightbox or outdoors |
| RS485 cable (shielded twisted pair, e.g. LiYCY 2×0.5 mm² or a CAT5 pair), ferrules, N terminal block | As needed | ~€5–10 | Meter-to-Teltonika link and tidy wiring |
| Auxiliary relay, 230 V AC coil, 1 NO contact, DIN module | 1, if the sign has a timer or twilight switch | ~€8–15 | Tells the Teltonika whether the timer has the sign switched on, so "off by schedule" isn't reported as a failure |
| Total per sign, one meter | ~€185–250 | Excl. VAT and installation. Each extra meter adds ~€33–40. | |
B. Option without cutting cables (battery-powered)
For signs already mounted where the feed can't be opened. Use only if the bench test shows the clamps sense small LED currents reliably.
| Item | Qty per sign | Price | Why it's needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragino CS01-CB | 1 | ~€81–120 | LTE-M/NB-IoT current sensor, 4 channels, 8,500 mAh battery |
| Current clamps (CT) | 1–4 | ~€10–20 each | One per driver or group of drivers, on the 230 V side |
| IoT SIM card | 1 | ~€13 for 10 years | Can ship pre-installed (1NCE) |
| Total per sign | ~€105–155+ | Excl. VAT. Not truly real time: reports every 10–20 min. | |
C. Optional, or only in special cases
| Item | Maker, country | Price | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelly 1PM Gen3 / 1PM Mini Gen3 | Shelly, Bulgaria | ~€15 (incl. VAT) | Only where store Wi-Fi or our own router is available. Wi-Fi relay with power metering; can replace the sign's timer. |
| Shelly Pro 1PM (DIN rail) | Shelly, Bulgaria | ~€76 (incl. VAT) | Same, with LAN and a 5-year warranty |
| Milesight EM500-LGT | Milesight, China | ~€189–212 | Light sensor as a backup check only (LoRaWAN, needs a gateway) |
| Lichtwart ECO | Lichtwart, Germany | €399 + €8/mo + €24 SIM | Benchmark in the bench test, or the alternative of partnering with Lichtwart |
D. Alternatives, only if the main options fail the bench test
| Item | Maker, country | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardwario CHESTER Current | Hardwario, Czech Republic | On request | LTE-M/NB-IoT/LoRaWAN, up to 4 clamps, IP67 |
| ACRIOS S0 → NB-IoT converter | ACRIOS, Czech Republic | from ~€40 | Sends a meter's pulse output (e.g. SDM120) over NB-IoT; replaces the Teltonika |
| Dragino CS01-NB | Dragino, China | ~€81–90 + clamps | NB-IoT only |
| Milesight UC300 | Milesight, China | ~€189–210 | LTE Cat 1 controller; needs an external meter |
| Eastron SDM230-LoRa | Eastron, China | ~€89–154 | Meter with built-in LoRaWAN; needs a gateway (~€115–245 per site) |
| Dragino CS01-LB | Dragino, China | ~€63–75 + clamps | LoRaWAN version; needs a gateway |
| Milesight WS558 | Milesight, China | ~€122–142 | LoRaWAN lighting controller, 8 outputs; needs a gateway |
| Netvox R718N17 / R718N1 | Netvox, Taiwan | ~€120–220 | LoRaWAN current sensor, battery not included; needs a gateway |
| Elsys ELT Lite | Elsys, Sweden | ~€88 | General-purpose LoRaWAN sensor input; needs a gateway |
E. Not suitable for us
| Item | Maker, country | Price | Why not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teltonika TRB145 | Teltonika, Lithuania | ~€95–122 | LTE Cat 1 only, no LTE-M/NB-IoT |
| Teltonika TRB140 / TRB245 | Teltonika, Lithuania | ~€105–160 | LTE Cat 4, no LTE-M/NB-IoT; the TRB140 also has no RS485 |
| Milesight CT101 | Milesight, China | ~€73–89 | Self-powered clamp needs ~1.5 A, while a 100 W LED sign draws ~0.4 A |
Extra costs
- SIM: ~€13 once for 10 years (1NCE, €12 plan + €1 SIM, 500 MB in total, so keep data use low), or ~€1.6–2.5/month on operator plans via resellers
- LoRaWAN gateway: ~€115–245 per site (no national LoRaWAN network in Lithuania)
- Current clamps for Dragino: roughly €10–20, to be quoted
Our own device (rough estimate)
- Parts, at 1,000 units: ~€35–60 (LTE-M module such as Quectel BG95 or Nordic nRF9151 €12–22, metering chip, relay, power supply, PCB, enclosure, assembly) + ~€13 SIM
- At ~100 units: ~€60–90 each
- One-off: ~€15–40k development + ~€12–40k EU certification and operator approval
- Pays off only from several thousand units, so only once we expand across the Baltics
For the pilot: test the two LTE-M/NB-IoT options, Teltonika TRB256 + Eastron SDM120 (reliable, mains-powered) and Dragino CS01-CB (battery, no cable cutting), with a Lichtwart unit as a benchmark. Shelly is optional, only for sites with Wi-Fi. Expect about €105–175 per sign for the device, excl. VAT. Ask Teltonika directly for volume prices.
Wiring diagrams To bench-test
How the monitoring devices connect to a sign, including signs with several LED drivers (power supplies). These are principle diagrams to be checked in the workshop bench test; on-site connection must be done by an attested electrician.
Key idea
Several drivers usually change nothing: one meter on the common 230 V feed, before it splits to the drivers, sees the total power of all of them. When one driver fails, power drops by a step, and the size of the step shows how much of the sign went dark.
1. How a typical sign is wired
All drivers are connected in parallel to the same 230 V line. That line is the measuring point.
2. Main option: Teltonika TRB256 + one Eastron SDM120
- The meter sits before the timer, on permanent power. It is always on: it shows 0 W when the timer is off but still answers. Behind the timer it would switch off at night, and we couldn't tell "timer off" from "breaker tripped".
- The Teltonika has its own supply through a 2 A fuse and a small DIN power supply, so it works when the sign is off.
- An auxiliary relay on the timer output tells the Teltonika input whether the timer has the sign switched on. This is the most reliable way to tell "off by schedule" from "failed".
- Alternative: replace the timer with the Teltonika output and a contactor. We then control the schedule from the platform, as Lichtwart does, which later allows selling energy saving too.
| What the platform sees | What it means |
|---|---|
| Timer on, normal power | All fine |
| Timer on, power dropped by a step | One driver or LED group failed (partial failure) |
| Timer on, 0 W | Whole sign dark: blown fuse, broken wire, etc. |
| Timer off, 0 W | Off by schedule, all fine |
| Device stopped sending data | Power cut at the site, RCD tripped, or connection lost |
Example: 4 drivers × 60 W = 240 W. If one fails, power drops to ~180 W (−25%), which the meter sees clearly. The platform learns each sign's normal power and alerts on a drop of more than, say, 10–15%.
3. Signs with many drivers (6–12 or more)
Rule of thumb: one meter reliably catches a driver failure if that driver is at least ~10–15% of total power. With many drivers, or very different sizes, a small driver's failure can get lost in normal fluctuation. Then split the drivers into groups, each with its own meter.
- Meters are chained on one RS485 line, each with its own Modbus address (1, 2, 3…); a longer line gets 120 Ω resistors at both ends. One Teltonika reads them all.
- Keep up to ~6–8 drivers per group. Group by part of the sign (sides, letters, logo), so the alert also says where the failure is.
- One shared timer can sit before the meters. The meters are then behind the timer, so take the timer state from the auxiliary relay.
- Each extra meter costs ~€33–40 and takes 1 DIN-rail module.
4. Without cutting cables: Dragino CS01-CB with clamps
- The Dragino has 4 channels: each clamp goes on one driver's 230 V wire or on a group's wire, so you see exactly which driver failed.
- Clamps measure AC only, so they go on the 230 V side, not on the 12/24 V LED wires.
- Biggest risk: a 60 W driver draws only ~0.26 A. Whether the clamps reliably sense such a small current must be checked in the bench test ("accuracy at 20, 50, 100 and 300 W").
- The same principle applies to the Hardwario CHESTER Current (up to 4 clamps).
What goes in one box
- A small IP65 DIN enclosure (~4–8 modules wide)
- 2 A breaker for the electronics
- Eastron SDM120, one or several
- DIN power supply 12/24 V DC (e.g. Mean Well HDR-15)
- Teltonika TRB256 with antenna
- Optional auxiliary relay for the timer state
- Extra on top of the devices: about €40–80 (box, power supply, fuse, relay)
Which option when
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Up to ~6–8 similar drivers | 1 meter |
| More drivers, or need to know which part failed | Several meters on one RS485 line |
| Cables can't be cut (signs already mounted) | Dragino with clamps, if the bench test shows enough sensitivity |
For the electrician: installation and setup To bench-test
A practical guide for the main kit (Teltonika TRB256 + Eastron SDM120). The values below are typical; check each one against the manual for the exact model before installing.
Safety first
- On site, only an electrician with a VERT attestation connects the devices.
- Switch off and lock the sign's circuit, then verify that no voltage is present.
- Use ferrules on stranded wire, and keep the protective earth (PE) continuous as usual.
- Don't open or modify LED drivers or the certified devices.
Terminal-level wiring
| # | From | To | Wire | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sign breaker L (after the 30 mA RCD) | SDM120 L in | Cu 1.5 mm² (matching the breaker) | Permanent supply, before the timer |
| 2 | SDM120 L out | Timer L in (or the drivers directly if there is no timer) | Cu 1.5 mm² | Don't swap L in and L out |
| 3 | Timer switched output | LED drivers L, in parallel | Existing wiring | — |
| 4 | N terminal block | SDM120 N, drivers N, power supply N, relay coil A2 | Cu 1.5 mm² | The SDM120 needs N to measure voltage |
| 5 | Sign breaker L | 2 A breaker → power supply L | Cu 1.0–1.5 mm² | Electronics circuit, permanent supply |
| 6 | Power supply +V / −V | TRB256 power + / − | 0.5–0.75 mm² | 12 V DC; check polarity |
| 7 | SDM120 A / B | TRB256 RS485 A / B (may be marked D+ / D−) | Shielded twisted pair | Earth the shield at one end only |
| 8 | Timer switched L | Auxiliary relay coil A1 (A2 to N) | Cu 1.0 mm² | 230 V AC coil |
| 9 | Auxiliary relay NO contact | TRB256 digital input and its ground | 0.5 mm² | Dry contact; follow the Teltonika manual for the input type |
| 10 | LTE antenna | TRB256 antenna connector | — | Antenna outside a metal enclosure |
Voltages and settings
| What | Value | How to check / set |
|---|---|---|
| Mains | 230 V AC (allowed 207–253 V) | Multimeter: L–N ≈ 230 V, L–PE ≈ 230 V, N–PE close to 0 V |
| Power supply output | 12.0 V DC; the TRB256 accepts 9–30 V DC (check the datasheet) | Set with the potentiometer on the supply before connecting the Teltonika |
| LED driver output | 12 or 24 V DC, as on the label | Don't change it. For diagnosis only: 230 V at the input but nothing at the output means a faulty driver. |
| RS485 link | Same speed on meter and Teltonika. SDM120 factory default is usually 2400 bps, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1); 9600 bps can also be set. | Check on the meter display menu |
| Meter address | 1 for the first meter, then 2, 3… for each next one | Set with the meter's button menu; write the address on the meter |
| SDM120 registers | Input registers (Modbus function 04), 32-bit float, 2 registers each | Voltage 30001 (offset 0), current 30007 (6), active power 30013 (12), frequency 30071 (70), total energy kWh 30343 (342) |
| Reading and sending | Read every 10 s; heartbeat to the platform every 15 min; events at once | Set in the Teltonika (we will supply a ready configuration file) |
| Alert thresholds (in the platform) | Normal power = average of the first 3 nights. Alert if power drops >15% or falls to 0 W while the timer is on, for 3 min. | Adjustable per sign |
Installation and commissioning, step by step
- Before connecting: measure the sign's current power with a clamp meter and note the drivers from their labels (how many, how many W each).
- Mount the DIN parts in the enclosure and wire them as in the table. Check every screw terminal.
- Set the SDM120 address and speed in its button menu, and label the meter with its address.
- Set the power supply output to 12.0 V with the Teltonika disconnected, then connect it.
- Insert the SIM, power on and configure the TRB256: mobile settings (APN of the SIM), Modbus Serial Master (RS485, same speed and 8N1 as the meter, its address, the registers above), and sending to our server over MQTT.
- Check the readings in the Teltonika web interface: voltage ~230 V, power close to the drivers' total rating (e.g. 4 × 60 W drivers → ~200–250 W).
- Test: switch off one driver → power drops by its share; timer off → the digital input changes and power goes to 0; switch off the 2 A breaker → the platform shows the device offline within 30–45 min.
- Press the RCD test button. Measure the circuit's leakage current with a leakage clamp; it should stay at about 10 mA or less.
- Fill in the installation sheet: site, sign, number and power of drivers, meter address, SIM number, photos of the enclosure.
If something doesn't work
| Symptom | Likely cause and fix |
|---|---|
| No values from the meter | A and B swapped (swap them); different speed or address on meter and Teltonika; no N on the meter |
| Power shows negative or strange values | L in and L out swapped on the meter, or a wrong register; if values look like nonsense, try the register one higher or lower (some devices number from 0, others from 1) |
| Values jump or the link drops now and then | Shield not earthed, cable not twisted, or a long line without 120 Ω resistors at both ends |
| Teltonika offline | Wrong APN, weak signal (check signal strength in the web interface; move the antenna outside the box), SIM not active |
| RCD trips after installation | Check the wiring and the power supply; measure leakage with each part disconnected in turn |
Several meters (many drivers)
- Group the drivers by part of the sign, up to ~6–8 per meter.
- Give each meter its own address (1, 2, 3…).
- Chain the RS485 line from meter to meter: A to A, B to B, with short branches.
- On longer lines (more than ~10–20 m), put 120 Ω resistors at both ends of the line.
Dragino clamps
- Clamp only the L wire. If L and N go through the same clamp, the readings cancel out.
- Mind the arrow on the clamp.
- For very small currents, loop the wire 2–4 times through the clamp, then divide the reading by the number of turns.
- Set the reporting interval (e.g. 10–20 min) in the device's configuration.
How data reaches the platform Proposed
The device reads the meter often inside the box, but sends to the monitoring platform (our CRM) only what matters: events at once, plus a short "I'm alive" message at regular intervals. This keeps alerts within a few minutes while using very little mobile data.
Example: a driver fails at night
What is sent and when
| What | When | Content and size | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local readings | Every 10 s, inside the box | Not sent; the Teltonika compares readings itself | Notices changes quickly at no data cost |
| Event | Immediately when something changes: power drops by a step (>10–15%), power falls to 0, timer switches on/off, mains comes back | ~200 bytes: what changed, new values, exact time | Fast alert |
| Heartbeat | Every 15 min | ~200–300 bytes: average power, kWh, voltage, signal strength | Proves the device is alive; energy reports for the client |
| Offline check | On the platform: no heartbeat for 30–45 min | — | Catches site power cuts, tripped RCDs, lost connection |
| Commands | When needed, from the platform to the device | Small | Change the schedule, thresholds or settings; restart |
How fast
- Sign fails: alert in ~3–5 min. Detection takes ~10 s and sending a few seconds; the platform then waits ~3 min to confirm, so a flicker or a short voltage dip doesn't raise a false alarm.
- Device goes silent: alert in ~30–45 min.
- All timings can be set per client: faster for fuel stations, slower where it doesn't matter.
Data use
- About 1–3 MB a month per sign, including connection overhead.
- A 1NCE SIM has 500 MB for 10 years (~4 MB a month), so router services we don't need (remote management polling, automatic update checks) must be switched off or counted. Measure the real figure in the bench test.
- If the connection drops, the Teltonika stores readings and sends them when it's back, with the original times.
Inside the platform
- The Teltonika can read Modbus meters and send data over MQTT out of the box, so no custom device software is needed.
- Every device has its own credentials and all traffic is encrypted (TLS).
- Battery devices (Dragino) are not truly real time: they wake every 10–20 min to save battery, so an alert can come up to one interval later. Whether their threshold alarm can report sooner must be checked in the bench test.
Earnings calculator Estimate
Change the numbers to see what different subscription fees could earn. Defaults come from the research above, all excl. VAT. This is a planning tool, not a forecast: the pilot will tell us what clients actually pay.
Different fees with the same number of signs
| Fee per sign per month | Revenue per month | Profit per month | Our share per year | Our total over the contract |
|---|
How it works: profit per month = signs × (fee − connectivity − platform cost) − fixed running costs. The one-off device margin is signs × (device price − device cost). Both are split by "our share"; setup costs come out of our share only. Not included: installation (done and charged by the sign maker), repair work (the sign maker's maintenance contracts), taxes, and signs that cancel early.
Tasks now
These two tasks unblock everything else. Ticks are saved in your browser.
Start now1. Facts about the sign-making business
Who: sign maker, with the founder. These answers decide who pays the subscription and what the commercial deal looks like.
Start now2. Workshop bench test of candidate devices
Who: sign maker's workshop, with the founder. Budget about €300–400. This decides which device goes into the pilot.
Decisions ahead
Decided together, in this order. Each one waits on the items listed in "Needs".
| # | Decision | What it settles | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who subscribes and pays | Does the retail client pay, with the sign maker reselling? Does the sign maker pay and use it as its own tool? Or a mix: bundled into new signs, with the sign maker paying for existing signs it maintains? | WaitingTask 1 |
| 2 | Partnership terms | Device pricing versus sharing subscription revenue, who owns what, territory and duration. | WaitingDecision 1 |
| 3 | Pilot device | Which certified mobile-network device (no store Wi-Fi) and which sensing method. Alternatively, partner with Lichtwart in the Baltics. | WaitingTask 2 |
| 4 | Monitoring platform | Build our own versus build on an existing IoT platform. Minimum features: live sign status, alerts, repair jobs, client view. | WaitingDecision 3 |
| 5 | Pricing & unit economics | Price per sign, cost per sign, break-even number of signs. | WaitingDecisions 1–4 |
| 6 | Pilot plan & go/no-go | Which client and signs, how many, how long, and what results mean "go". | WaitingDecisions 2 and 5 |
Budget & timeline Proposed
| Phase | When | What | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facts & bench test | Weeks 1–2 | Tasks 1 and 2 above. Order operator trial SIMs: Telia (free 1-month IoT trial), Bitė (6-month pack of 10 NB-IoT SIMs), Tele2 IoT (2-month kit). | €300–400 |
| Decisions | Weeks 3–5 | Decisions 1–6. Agree partnership terms in writing before the pilot. | €0 |
| Pilot build | Weeks 6–8 | 20–50 devices, SIMs, a first version of the monitoring platform, installation on the client's signs. | €1.5–5k |
| Pilot run | Months 3–4 | Live monitoring. Measure failures caught, repair time, wasted visits avoided, and false alarms. | €0.5–1k |
| Go / no-go | End of month 4 | Does the client agree to a paid subscription afterwards? If yes, plan the roll-out and Baltic expansion. | — |
Estimates assume ready-made certified devices, with the sign maker's team doing installation. All within the €10k pilot budget, with a reserve left over.
Main risks
Willingness to pay
A dark sign costs little at a single store. The case relies on maintenance contracts and brand image across many sites. The pilot must prove it.
Small home market
Lithuania alone is roughly €0.5M a year at most. Real scale needs Latvia and Estonia, and possibly Poland.
False alarms
Timers, power cuts and partly failed LEDs must be told apart from real failures, or clients will ignore alerts.
Competition
Lichtwart could enter the Baltics. impressBox already sells screen monitoring to the same retailers and is testing LED fault detection. Telia or Civinity could add sign monitoring to what they already sell. Moving early matters.