Ljubljana Smart Parking: NB-IoT Guidance Signage

Deployment Snapshot

Field	Value
Client	Telekom Slovenije, d.d.
HQ	Ljubljana, Slovenia
Industry	National telecommunications (Deutsche Telekom associated)
Products deployed	IoT Parking Guidance Signage (NB-IoT, 3-digit Flip-Dot), IoT Hub (OPEX-free)
Connectivity	NB-IoT
Deployment type	Production signage with lifetime backend
Order date	September 2023

The Client

Telekom Slovenije is Slovenia's national telecommunications operator, providing mobile, fixed-line, broadband, and digital services across the country. The company has strategic connections to the Deutsche Telekom ecosystem and operates NB-IoT infrastructure across Slovenia, providing the cellular backbone for IoT applications including smart metering, environmental monitoring, and smart city platforms.

The Challenge: Citizen-Facing Parking Information Without Power Infrastructure

Slovenian municipalities need to communicate real-time parking availability to drivers on approach roads, but installing powered LED displays requires electrical connections, cabling, and ongoing energy costs. Many historic Slovenian town centres restrict new electrical infrastructure installations. The challenge is deploying visible, maintenance-free digital parking signage at locations where no power supply exists and where the municipality cannot justify the cost of electrical civil works.

The Solution: Solar-Powered Flip-Dot Signage with Lifetime NB-IoT Connectivity

Telekom Slovenije's September 2023 order deployed Fleximodo's Guidance Signage: a fundamentally different approach to digital parking signage and parking information displays.

The deployment included:

• IoT Parking Guidance Signage (3-digit, Flip-Dot display, NB-IoT), Solar-powered wireless display showing real-time parking space counts, using high-contrast Flip-Dot technology with reflective coating readable in direct sunlight. NB-IoT connectivity refreshes the display every 10 seconds via Telekom Slovenije's own cellular network. As a parking guidance system, the sign aggregates and displays live counts drawn from Fleximodo's underlying parking occupancy detection network across each site.
• IoT Hub (OPEX-free, lifetime connectivity), Backend data processing included for the hardware's entire lifetime with no recurring fees, eliminating ongoing subscription costs for the telecom's municipal clients.

The OPEX-free model is strategically important: Telekom Slovenije can include the signage in municipal smart city bundles without layering Fleximodo backend fees onto what the telecom charges its city clients. The Flip-Dot display technology is the key innovation, unlike LED displays that require constant power, Flip-Dot pixels only consume energy when changing state (flipping), then hold their position mechanically. Combined with a solar cell, the display operates completely off-grid with a 30-year rated lifespan and zero maintenance.

For a national telecom, this is a powerful municipal offering: a parking guidance system that requires nothing, no electrical connection, no power supply, no wired network, no maintenance visits, just cellular connectivity running on Telekom Slovenije's own NB-IoT network. True install-and-forget infrastructure.

Fleximodo IoT Parking Guidance Signage: Technical Profile

The Flip-Dot display's energy efficiency enables true solar-only operation: the sign draws power only when the displayed number changes, holding the current count mechanically without any energy consumption.

Specification	Detail
Display type	High-contrast Flip-Dot with reflective coating
Configuration	3-digit (3-unit module)
Power source	Solar cell (self-powered)
Connectivity	NB-IoT (10-second refresh)
Installation	Outdoor, wireless, no electrical connections
Lifespan	30 years
Maintenance	Zero (no external power required)
Operating temperature	-40 to +85 °C
Visibility	Reflective coating, readable in direct sunlight
Ingress protection	IP64

Editorial note: Telekom Slovenije also evaluates Meratch water level sensors alongside Fleximodo parking hardware, reflecting the telecom's broader IoT ambitions across its NB-IoT network.

Fleximodo smart parking technology is deployed in 30+ countries. Explore Guidance Signage | View all products | See also: OTE, Deutsche Telekom subsidiary deploying Fleximodo in Greece | Deutsche Telekom BS, Hannover deployment