Industry Overview | The World’s Oldest Industry Enters The Technology Age
For many people, the agricultural industry may not seem like a very “high-tech” one. In fact, in a historical and anthropological context, the agriculture industry pre-dates any other industry on earth, with evidence dating back 10,000 years signifying that humans were planting, cultivating, and trading crops.
However, the agriculture industry is – in fact – quite technologically advanced.
For centuries farmers had to rely on their personal knowledge, passed down traditions and trade secrets, and good old Mother Nature to secure their annual harvest. Today, however, they have far more resources at their disposal, from weather tracking and fire mitigation systems to climate-controlled greenhouses and soil moisture monitoring. And, of course, they’re able to communicate across the property – however large it may be – via voice, data, and even video.
The Challenge | Connecting Hundreds of Acres with Smart Technologies
Although the agricultural industry now has amazing technology at its disposal, widespread farms aren’t exactly the easiest places to deploy it. A single farm can spread over hundreds of acres and several square miles. In fact, the average farm size in the United States as of 2019 was 444 acres.
As technology advances within the farming and agriculture industries, crops can now be monitored from miles away in real time with IoT sensors, drones, and autonomous equipment. However, in order to use this technology effectively, there must be constant connectivity, low latency, and high bandwidth to transfer data in real time and be able to handle data from potentially thousands of IoT sensors and autonomous farm equipment.
Additionally, with such a large physical area to cover that may include wide open spaces, greenhouses, and barns and sheds crammed full of equipment, existing network availability may be unreliable — or completely unavailable — in some areas.
The Solution | Nitro Creates Reliable Connectivity to Power IoT Applications and Devices
Utilizing Nitro Private LTE, MCA can create a unique network that will allow farms of all sizes to maintain a highly available and reliable network to ensure that their applications, equipment, and communications are never compromised.
PLTE also ensures network security and seamless communications. As teams and equipment traverse the land and transition from indoors to outdoors, they’ll never have to worry about their connectivity failing. Nitro PLTE expands coverage and enhances capacity by utilizing new wireless frequencies (CBRS), allowing organizations — like those in the agriculture industry — to build on existing Wi-Fi capabilities and increase network mobility and security.
To expand the reach of Nitro, we also offer several interoperable sets of hardware specially designed to be able to operate on CBRS network frequencies:
The Result | Increased Yield, Revenue, and Cost-Savings
With the necessary network availability, large agricultural operations can now fully embrace the technology age. Smart Farming enables advanced monitoring of crops and provides the data – and the means – to make immediate decisions and improvements in growing conditions.
For example, if a soil monitor indicates that moisture levels are too low, irrigation systems can be immediately triggered to provide the perfect amount of water. Or, conversely, if moisture levels are too high, then irrigation schedules can be adjusted until the moisture is back at the optimal level.
This means that farms can expect an increase in yield and, by extension, revenue while simultaneously creating cost savings with more e fficient operations.
The Team | MCA Provides Expertly Tailored Communications Solutions
For over 30 years, MCA has provided expertly tailored communications solutions to farming organizations of all sizes in need of two-way radios, in and outdoor connectivity, and wireless signal enhancement systems. Our team provides top-tier support for every aspect of your business-critical communications projects from start to finish. Our engineers assess your needs, design custom solutions, and install systems to suit your organization’s exacting requirements.
About Us
MCA is an industry leader in the deployment of private wireless networking solutions that provide seamless enterprise-grade connectivity for business-critical voice, video, and data applications. Partner with MCA to be your turn-key provider for PLTE networks, routers, and interoperable radio and video hardware. To learn more about our solutions, or to request a free consultation call us at (800) 577-3678, or visit https://callmc.com/plte.