Rio&Sa Telecomunicaciones: Automating Modem Deployment at Scale with a Custom Sticker Generator
Project Overview
Rio&Sa Telecomunicaciones is a regional ISP deploying modems and WiFi equipment to residential and business clients across their service area. Every modem they install needs to ship with a branded sticker — the customer's unique SSID, a randomly generated WiFi password, a scannable QR code for instant connection, and a legal notice tying the equipment to the company.
We built them a fully custom desktop application — available on both Windows and Linux — that generates print-ready PDF sheets of branded modem stickers in seconds. The tool includes a GUI version for office staff and a CLI version for power users, auto-installs its own dependencies, and outputs a credential log alongside every PDF batch.
The Problem We Solved
Growing ISPs hit the same operational wall at a certain scale: the processes that worked for 20 installs per month break completely at 200. Rio&Sa was there.
- Stickers created manually per installation: Staff were typing SSIDs and passwords into a Word template, generating QR codes from a third-party website, and assembling the sticker layout by hand — every single time.
- No credential tracking: Once a sticker was printed, those credentials lived nowhere except the physical sticker. No record, no recovery path if a sticker was lost or damaged before installation.
- Inconsistent branding: Different staff members produced stickers that looked different from each other — fonts, layouts, and legal text varied with whoever was printing that day.
- No sequential SSID control: SSID numbers were assigned ad hoc, leading to duplicates in the field. Technicians couldn't tell which modem belonged to which customer without physically checking the unit.
What We Built
We delivered a cross-platform desktop application with a fully branded GUI and a production-ready CLI — zero cloud dependency, zero subscription, runs on any Windows 11 or Linux machine with a single double-click. Every sticker produced is pixel-perfect and identical, regardless of who runs it.
- GUI Application (Windows & Linux): A clean tkinter desktop interface lets any staff member set the sticker count, password length, starting SSID number, and character options — then click Generate. No training required.
-
CLI Version for Power Users:
A fully flagged CLI (
--num-stickers,--password-length,--start-number,--no-upper, etc.) allows batch generation to be scripted into existing deployment workflows. -
WiFi QR Codes — Native Generation:
Each sticker's QR code encodes a full WPA WiFi string (
WIFI:T:WPA;S:...;P:...;;) — customers scan it once and their phone connects automatically. No third-party website, no manual copy-paste. - Branded PDF Output — Letter Size: 5 stickers per letter-sized page (19cm × 5cm each), centered with margins, ready to print and cut. Each sticker carries the Rio&Sa logo, company colors, credential boxes, QR code, and the legal equipment-ownership notice.
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Automatic Credential Log:
Every batch generates a paired
.txtfile with every SSID number, SSID name, and password — timestamped and saved alongside the PDF. The ops team always has a recovery record. -
Zero-Friction Launcher:
A Windows
.batmenu and a Linux.shlauncher handle first-run dependency installation automatically (qrcode, ReportLab, Pillow). Staff with no Python knowledge double-clickSTART_HERE.batand are generating stickers within 60 seconds.
Technical Implementation
- PDF Engine: ReportLab Canvas — pixel-precise sticker layouts including round-rect cards, gradient fills, shadow effects, alpha compositing, and multi-column text wrapping, all rendered without any design tool.
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QR Generation:
qrcodelibrary withERROR_CORRECT_Herror correction — stickers survive scratches and partial damage and still scan correctly in the field. - GUI: Python tkinter with a custom modern design — dark card UI, live terminal output with color-coded log tags, progress bar, and threaded generation so the UI never freezes during large batches.
- Image Processing: Pillow handles the Rio&Sa logo — auto-converts color modes and applies a circular mask so the logo renders as a clean circle on the sticker, consistent with the brand's visual identity.
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Distribution:
Single folder, zero install — the app ships as a directory containing the Python scripts, a
.batlauncher (Windows), a.shlauncher (Linux), and an optional.desktopshortcut for Linux desktops. No packaging, no installer, no admin rights needed. -
Output:
PDF saved to the user's Desktop automatically, with a timestamp in the filename. Credential
.txtfile saved to the same location. No configuration needed.
How the Workflow Works
What used to take a staff member 30–45 minutes of manual work per batch now takes under 10 seconds:
-
Double-click
START_HERE.bat(Windows) or run./run.sh(Linux). On first run, dependencies install automatically. - Set the sticker count, password length, and starting SSID number. Enable or disable uppercase, lowercase, and numeric characters as needed.
- Click "Generate Stickers" — the engine loops through every sticker, generates unique credentials, builds the QR code, renders the full branded layout, and compiles everything into a single PDF.
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Find the PDF and the credentials
.txton the Desktop. Print the PDF on letter-size paper and cut. Hand stickers to the installation team.
Business Value
- Operational Time Savings: A batch of 20 stickers that used to take 40+ minutes of manual work now completes in under 15 seconds. At 200 installs per month, that's 6+ hours returned to the team every month.
- Zero Human Error on Credentials: Passwords are cryptographically random, QR codes are generated from the exact same string that appears in plaintext on the sticker — no transcription errors, no mismatches, no callbacks from customers who can't connect.
- Consistent Brand in the Field: Every modem Rio&Sa installs carries the same professional, branded sticker. The legal equipment-ownership notice is always present, always legible. The company looks as organized as its largest competitors.
- Full Credential Audit Trail: Every batch produces a timestamped credential log. If a sticker is lost, damaged, or disputed, the ops team can look up exactly what was printed, when, and for which SSID range.
- No Ongoing Costs: No SaaS subscription, no API costs, no cloud dependency. The tool runs fully offline on any machine in the office. Once built, it's theirs permanently.
- Growth-Ready: The batch engine handles up to 100 stickers per run with no degradation. As Rio&Sa scales, the tool scales with them — and the CLI version makes it straightforward to integrate into any future automated provisioning pipeline.
Still printing modem stickers by hand?
If your team manually creates WiFi stickers, tracks credentials in a notebook, or pastes QR codes from a website — there's a better way. We've built this before. We can build it for you in days, not months, at a fraction of the cost of custom enterprise software.
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