Connected Farms NZ Unveil CommsXtend To Overcome Rural Connectivity Barriers

Fairlie, Canterbury, Friday 12th January – With a significant percentage of farmland in New Zealand grappling with poor connectivity coverage, Connected Farms takes a significant stride forward in addressing this challenge with the launch of CommsXtend. This groundbreaking portable on-machine Wi-Fi hotspot solution is meticulously designed to extend connectivity across farmland, empowering rural and farming businesses to embrace digital agricultural technologies effectively.

"CommsXtend represents a step change in overcoming the connectivity limitations that have long hindered New Zealand farmers from fully adopting transformative digital agricultural technologies," states Tom Andrews, CEO of Connected Farms. "Our commitment to bridging the connectivity gap is reflected in the development of our CommsXtend solution, which will not only improve farm efficiencies and savings but also contribute towards improving lone worker safety."

Tailored specifically for the unique demands of New Zealand agriculture, CommsXtend offers:

Durability for Agricultural Environments: Engineered to withstand the rugged conditions of farm environments, CommsXtend seamlessly integrates with combine harvesters, tractors, and service vehicles, enhancing precision and digital agriculture through continuous connectivity.

Dynamic SIM Technology: Leveraging Connected Farms’ unique dynamic SIM technology, CommsXtend amplifies signal from any mobile operator network throughout New Zealand, ensuring connectivity even in areas with limited coverage. This enables farmers to utilise Wi-Fi calling and data usage on smartphones and AgriTech devices, and enable the full technical capability of their farm machinery despite patchy cellular networks.

Often, farms have partial coverage by different mobile operators, leading to fragmented connectivity. CommsXtend transcends this limitation by offering unified, ubiquitous coverage across the entire farm. By dynamically selecting the strongest available signal, it establishes a consistent and robust Wi-Fi connection. This seamless connectivity ensures that farmers, along with their AgriTech and in-cab technologies, operate efficiently and effectively, regardless of the mobile operator’s coverage in different areas of the farm.

"CommsXtend is the cornerstone of improving communications across farms that have poor coverage. It not only extends connectivity for Wi-Fi calling in the paddock but also opens doors to a realm of possibilities for farmers, enabling remote monitoring, integration of precision technology, robotics and automation, labour-saving measures, and enhanced decision-making", comments Andrews.

Luke Robertson, Chief Technology Officer for Connected Farms has worked with Farmers to develop and test this technology and emphasizes, ‘’This innovative technology sets new benchmarks in connectivity within the agricultural sphere. Its capabilities extend far beyond conventional connectivity solutions. By fostering a network that enables remote monitoring and seamless integration of precision technology, it empowers farmers with invaluable insights to make real time decisions and greater operational control.” 
“The adaptability of CommsXtend across an array of agricultural machinery and vehicles further underscores its versatility and practicality, ensuring that farms of all sizes can seamlessly integrate this innovative solution into their operations”, said Luke.

Connected Farms’ CommsXtend has just been launched. By bridging this connectivity gap, Connected Farms are excited to be helping foster opportunities for improved on-farm safety, farmer wellbeing, production efficiency and growth across New Zealand's agricultural landscape, learn more here.

© Scoop Media