Agriculture manufacturer Case IH <\/b>recently showcased its upcoming satellite terminal for tractors, combines, and more at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, as it prepares to roll out a satcom solution with Intelsat<\/b>. <\/p>\n
Via Satellite <\/i>spoke with Case IH during Farm Progress to hear about why the manufacturer chose to work with Intelsat, and what satellite connectivity will mean for its customers. This comes after Case IH parent company CNH<\/b> announced a deal with Intelsat in April that includes its brands Case IH, Steyr, and New Holland. <\/p>\n
Case IH previewed the satellite solution to Farm Progress attendees in a display about advanced connectivity with a 3D rendering of the terminal (photo above). <\/p>\n
While John Deere made a large splash with its satellite RFP and then its decision to go with Starlink, CNH\u2019s selection of Intelsat shows there is opportunity for more satellite operators to provide connectivity to the agriculture industry. <\/p>\n
Kendal Quandahl, the lead for Case IH precision segment, told Via Satellite<\/i> the company chose Intelsat for its proven solution in tough environments. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know their product history and their diverse portfolio and the challenges that they\u2019ve worked through for other industries. That\u2019s a cohesive fit for the same kind of environment that we put equipment through in the ag industry,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The terminal is an Intelsat FlexMove, Ku-band multi-orbit terminal, built by hiSky<\/strong>. It is 1.62 inches thick, 24 inches long, and 11.5 inches wide, according to terminal specs from Intelsat. It weighs less than 6 kilograms\/ 13.23 lbs.<\/p>\n According to the deal announcement, the solution will start out with coverage from Intelsat\u2019s Geostationary (GEO) fleet, and later incorporate Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) coverage from Eutelsat OneWeb. Like the John Deere\/Starlink satcom solution, it will be sold by Case IH and New Holland dealers as an aftermarket kit. <\/p>\n Satellite connectivity is the next evolution in Case IH\u2019s work to connect its tractors, combines, and sprayers, to help make its customers\u2019 operations more efficient. Quandahl says that as farms have changed and gotten larger, being able to understand what is happening on the operation from a distance has become even more critical. <\/p>\n She understands the need to be connected firsthand. Quandahl takes an active role in her family\u2019s farm despite living hours away. <\/p>\n \u201cI live seven hours away from home,\u201d she said. \u201cI need to be able to see what\u2019s going on. My dad calls and asks questions \u2014 \u2018How does this work? How does that work?\u2019 Being able to see what\u2019s happening is really, really critical.\u201d <\/p>\n Quandahl said that equipment connectivity is a core technology platform for Case IH. Every single piece of cash crop equipment sold today is equipped in the factory with a cellular modem in the base technology, which includes a connectivity subscription. <\/p>\n Case IH machines collect agronomic data which tracks how well crops perform and where seeds are planted, equipment data on how the machine is working. There is also a feature for a live operator interface to remotely see inside the cab. This can be used to troubleshoot issues or get new operators up and running. Data collected in the field is uploaded to the FieldOps farm management platform when the equipment is in the range of cellular connectivity. <\/p>\n Quandahl said this satcom product will make a big difference for farmers in areas that struggle with broadband connectivity. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make sure that we\u2019re providing consistent, reliable connectivity to producers everywhere. When we think about rural connectivity, that\u2019s sometimes a challenge,\u201d Quandahl said. \u201cSatellite makes a lot of sense for those areas where rural connectivity is a struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n Quandahl confirmed things are on track from the initial timeline to roll out the satcom solution in the second half of 2024 to farmers in Brazil, and expand to the U.S., Australia, and other regions. <\/p>\n Both Case IH and John Deere put a key focus on rolling out the satellite solution in Brazil, which is a major hub for agriculture production but has low levels of high-speed internet connectivity. CNH cited the ConectarAgro Rural Connectivity Indicator that 19% of the area available for agricultural use in Brazil has high-speed internet access.<\/p>\n Quandahl said it\u2019s \u201cearly\u201d in the conversation of what the unit and connectivity subscription will cost for customers. She recommended that interested equipment owners reach out to their Case IH dealers to let them know they are interested. <\/p>\n As Case IH has rolled out cellular connected equipment, Quandahl said the connected equipment population and utilization has grown. She said it tends to be a quick evolution for producers from learning how to use it to being \u201cjust as reliant on their connected tractor as they are on their cell phone.\u201d <\/p>\n She expects a \u201cquick and easy\u201d adoption phase for those in areas where the satcom solution makes sense. <\/p>\n \u201cThose areas of customers that have historical cell challenges are ready,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re actively asking and we\u2019ve got dealerships that are ready to learn. As soon as we have the North American go ahead, I\u2019m really excited to bring the solution to market.\u201d <\/p>\n Read more from the Farm Progress Show: John Deere Details Early Access Program for Starlink Solution<\/i> <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Agriculture manufacturer Case IH recently showcased its upcoming satellite terminal for tractors, combines, and more at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, as it prepares to roll out a satcom solution with Intelsat. Via Satellite spoke with Case IH during Farm Progress to hear about why the manufacturer chose to work with Intelsat, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50616"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Case IH\u2019s Connectivity Strategy <\/b><\/h3>\n
Satellite Roll-Out <\/b><\/h3>\n