Spitfire Network Services Ltd (Spitfire), the award-winning provider of voice, internet, IoT and wide area network connectivity services, today announced how it is providing the connectivity for LH Agro UK Ltd, the UK precision technology specialist, to enable the precision steering of tractors and combines on farms across the country. The mobile connectivity provided by Spitfire keeps LH Agro’s engineers tractors, combines and other machinery connected while working in the field.
To steer a tractor or combine precisely, each machine needs a steady stream of GPS correction data as it works. The fixed base stations gather that data and send it back to LH Agro’s network, which pushes the correction out to the machines in the field. That connection has to hold up wherever the machines are – in remote locations where signal can be weak, and on machines constantly on the move.
LH Agro needed connectivity it could rely on in those conditions, and a commercial model suited to how its machines actually use data. Under a previous contract, data came as a single fixed allowance shared across all its SIMs, so LH Agro paid for a set volume regardless of use, including capacity on idle machines.
Spitfire answered both needs. Its SIMs provide the mobile connection that carries the correction signal, bringing the data back from the base stations and out to the machines as they work. The SIMs are steered to a primary network – Spitfire‘s MVNO (with a leading UK MNO) in LH Agro’s case – and fall back to other networks when that signal isn’t strong enough, so machines stay connected as they move through areas of variable coverage. Billing is on Spitfire’s Pay-Per-MB model, so LH Agro pays only for the data each SIM uses, and each activates the moment it goes into a modem.
LH Agro started with a short trial – a pair of SIMs in one base station – then added more to tractors and other moving machines, where holding a signal on the move is the harder test. It’s now standard practice: engineers fit SIMs during routine visits in a rolling transition across base stations and machinery.
Rowan Reed, Sales & Support Engineer, LH Agro said: “From a performance standpoint, everything’s been great. The SIMs get put into modems, they activate instantly, we’ve got good connectivity and they roam well. “Being able to pay for exactly what we’re using, it allows us to be a lot more competitive with our pricing, which directly benefits our customers.”
Harry Bowlby, MD, Spitfire Network Services added: “Agriculture is becoming increasingly connected with the use of technology growing on farms across the UK. This technology depends on connectivity that can work reliably in the field, often in rural locations and with machinery constantly on the move. LH Agro is a great example of how flexible connectivity can support this. We’re seeing growing demand for reliable connectivity across agriculture, and we’re excited to be supporting businesses like LH Agro as connected technology becomes an increasingly important part of modern farming.”
For more information or to contact Spitfire Network Services Ltd directly, organisations should visit www.spitfire.co.uk.
