John Deere production system manager Ben Kelly.
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britt spring
John Deere is urging customers to upgrade now to a 4G LTE JDLink modem, so they’re ‘all G (good)’ for ongoing collection and transfer of machine data and remote diagnostics, before the 3G network is shut down mid-next year.
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Mobile provider Telstra will switch off 3G on June 30, 2024, with others to follow, making it critical customers move quickly to upgrade modems to 4G technology to ensure continuity of services.
Already, customers using 3G modems may be experiencing problems due to reduced network coverage, decreased transmission speeds, or complete loss of function where 3G technology has been decommissioned from specific towers by telcos.
John Deere Operations Center on mobile.
John Deere production system manager Ben Kelly said while the loss of 3G networks in Australia could put agriculture’s connectivity at risk, customers can avoid disruptions to services by upgrading to 4G now.
“Connectivity is foundational to today’s agricultural production, enabling growers to connect their people, equipment and data to make more effective decisions, in real-time,” Mr Kelly said.
“As technology continues to improve at a rapid rate, we are seeing customers look to retrofit their existing equipment to take advantage of the latest tools and innovation available.
“Ideally, we would prefer the 3G network stayed in place, but this is not something that can be controlled, so we are looking at this as an opportunity to provide farmers with a better experience, particularly given the improved coverage and speed offered by 4G.
“Over the next 12 months we’ll be telling our valued customers ‘Upgrade to 4G, so you’re all G’.”
Mr Kelly said the upgrade process was relatively simple.
“The existing 3G modem and antenna can be upgraded to 4G quickly and easily ensuring farmers receive continued connectivity, as well as access to some new functionality.
“While there will be a hardware cost to upgrade to 4G, JDLink connectivity to John Deere Operations Center remains free, meaning farmers can continue to connect to equipment with no ongoing cost.”
Growers with 4G modems can process and transfer more data from their machines through increased processing, memory and storage capacity, and connect wirelessly to a user-provided hotspot device for data transfer, or use Bluetooth to connect to portable devices.
“June 2024 may still be 12 months away, but we’d encourage customers to start speaking to their local John Deere dealer now about their options to upgrade from 3G to 4G,” Mr Kelly said.
“Never before has on-farm connectivity offered such significant gains to efficiency and productivity for farmers, so we urge customers not to leave it to the last minute and upgrade now to keep their farm connected.”
