SPECIAL REPORT CONNECTIVITY
CONNECT BETTER
Monitoring technology through satellite or mobile connections gives farmers a remote connection to provide a competitive edge on productivity.
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THE FARMER
“Rural Australians have dealt with the challenges of isolation for a long time – they are generally very familiar with the impact of being alone.” With technology continuing to advance at a rapid rate, metropolitan Australians are used to being able to contact emergency services, mental health services and connect with friends or family with ease. However, for those further from the city, this experience ceases to be an easy affair. “I liken it to peeling back layers of an onion,” says Shannon. “At the centre you have the city where connectivity is not an issue, and most residences and businesses have fast fibre. The next layer, your options might be limited to fixed wireless, and the next layer, you might have no option but to choose a satellite connection.” Shannon says that the key to ensuring you find a provider (whether fixed wireless or satellite) is truly understanding your needs and specific challenges. “From a health perspective, regardless of your location, you should feel like you have access to modern tools that enable you to maintain freedom and independence. “And from a mental health perspective, you should be in a position that if you need to talk or connect with someone, whether that be a professional or friend, you can,” says Shannon. “At IPSTAR, we specialise in connecting regional and rural Australians, their families and businesses. We’ve been dedicated to this for many years. Remote
MAY - JUNE 2022
connectivity is our core business and something that we are extremely passionate about. “This means that our local team understand the challenges and pains felt by our customers, and we are constantly working with partners, including the NBN, as well as advocating for greater investment in regional connectivity.” ON DECK WITH FARMERS
There are a growing number of computer-based management products that have been developed in rural Australia to specifically cater for the unique needs of farmers. Farmdeck is a farm management system built specifically to cater for the poor connectivity and power so many farmers are forced to endure. The company’s solution is promoted as an all-inone Internet-of-Things (IoT) farm management solution allowing a very wide range of monitoring capabilities The IoT is all about physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. In relation to the Farmdeck product, IoT allows for on-farm monitoring of electric fences, rainfall, stock tracking and identification, water levels in troughs, dams and tanks, and a broad range of day-to-day farm management tools aimed at streamlining processes.
