John Deere said the new offering will be initially available for farmers in the United States and Brazil through a limited release
John Deere has entered into an agreement with SpaceX to provide satellite communications service to farmers.
Utilizing the Starlink network, this solution will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies.
The new satellite communications solution will initially be available through a limited release in the United States and Brazil starting in the second half of 2024.
“The value of connectivity to farmers is broader than any single task or action. Connectivity unlocks vast opportunities that were previously limited or unavailable,” said Aaron Wetzel, vice president of production and precision Ag production systems at John Deere. “For example, throughout the year, farmers must complete tasks within extremely short windows of time. This requires executing incredibly precise production steps while coordinating between machines and managing machine performance. Each of these areas are enhanced through connectivity, making the entire operation more efficient, effective, and profitable,” the executive said.
John Deere explained that the satellite communications solution will connect both new and existing machines through satellite internet service and ruggedized satellite terminals. This new offering will fully enable technologies such as autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, enhanced self-repair solutions and machine-to-machine communication, all of which help farmers work more efficiently while minimizing downtime, the company said.
“Now, we are bringing satellite communications service to the farm at scale so farmers with cellular coverage challenges can maximize the value of connectivity to their operations. The solution unlocks the John Deere tech stack so every farmer can fully utilize their current precision agriculture technology in addition to the new innovative solutions they will deploy in the future,” said Jahmy Hindman, senior vice president and CTO at John Deere.
To activate this solution, John Deere dealers will install a ruggedized Starlink terminal on compatible machines, along with a 4G LTE JDLink modem to connect the machine to the John Deere operations center.
Last year, John Deere announced plans to launch its first private 5G network in a new factory in Brazil, as part of a plan to deploy more mobile connectivity across its global manufacturing facilities.
Jason Wallin, principal architect of infrastructure and operations at John Deere, had told Mobile World Live the John Deere’s factory in Horizontina, Brazil will use 3.5 GHz midband spectrum.
