Broadband across cropland, a new option for rural Nebr
Connectivity for rural areas
CUSTER COUNTY - With all the technology available today for farmers and ranchers, sometimes it’s a surprise to realize that internet isn’t available everywhere. In Nebraska, even in Custer County, there are locations that haven’t yet been cabled for internet and sites where, because of hills and canyons, cell reception doesn’t exist. In those places what is a farmer or rancher to do?
The power of people working together has resulted in a solution.
Paige Wireless of Columbus has collaborated with Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and Custer Public Power District (CPPD) to create what Rick Nelson, CPPD General Manager, has called “the last mile solution.” “It has us intrigued,” he said
Paige Wireless is part of Paige Electrical, a 62-year-old company of Columbus. Paige Electrical’s main focus has been to provide wire cables for pivots and agribusiness. “If it connects or powers them, any cable on the machine, it’s us,” Julie Bushnell, president of Paige Wireless said. The company now has taken their knowledge and experience and, with Paige Wireless, created a statewide public network that
can be used by ag producers to obtain real time data from fields, pastures and operations.
The network is called LoRaWAN® (long range wide area network.) “It’s the first statewide network in the nation,” Bushnell said. “We are very excited about this.
It’s cutting edge technology.”
How does LoRaWAN® work?
“It’s designed for sensors,” Bushnell said. These sensors, which are about the size of a cigarette pack, can be placed wherever an ag producer wants to collect data - fields, barns, fences, bins, tanks, etc. The devices’ low band width pushes whatever data the producer is collecting - soil moisture, grain levels, water levels, etc. The sensors operate as the eyes and ears for the producer.
The sensors are untethered and battery operated. The battery life is five to ten years. Since they don’t have to be attached to the electric grid, they continue to operate during power outages. “They are really easy to install anywhere,” Bushell said. “With our statewide network, they will start talking directly to our network.”
What sets this network apart from other networks?
“What makes LoRaWAN® standout is that it is actually designed for sensors pushing very small data packets,” Bushell said. “This network is designed to support exactly what its uses are.” Cellular networks, in comparison, are designed for live streaming and communications and all the things people use cell phones for.
Another thing that sets LoRaWANan® apart is cost. Because it is a low band, it’s cost effective. According to Bushell, a sensor can communicate for about $2/month as compared with cellular cost of $30 or more.
For those who want or need a bit more, Paige Wireless does have a higher data solution as well. It’s more expensive than LoRaWAN® however Bushell says it’s still cost efficient. “We’re not bringing in the internet service but we’re bringing the through-put service (the infrastructure) that allows farmers and ranchers to adopt technology.”
For example, if a producer wants live video for surveillance or facial recognition for bio-security, he may not either have the network connection or enough of a connection to support live stream. “That’s where we come in. We bring in the network to bring him that very big pipe, if you will, that allows him to adopt the technology,” she said.
This means there is an option for connectivity for those living and working in areas that do not yet have internet access or cellular reception.
Bushnell is quick to say that Paige Wireless is not an internet service provider, that is, they do not supply the information that flows over the internet. “What we’ve done is worked with internet providers across the state and because we’ve built the network, they’re able to tap into that to bring internet service to the barn or to the home at a much more cost effective rate.”
Paige Wireless also
has high band support for mobile applications of up to 250 mph. “Tractors don’t move that fast but it’s very important, we feel, to have live stream in the tractor for precision planting so we are supporting that with our high band network as well.”
Another advantage of the LoRaWAN® network, Bushell explains, is that it is not proprietary, saying, “We allow the producers to choose whatever sensors, whatever technology is on the market and we integrate with it so they aren’t tied to any one solution. Our goal is to it to really put the power back in their hands.”
Both NPPD and CPPD saw the good in this for their customers as well as for themselves. “They immediately saw the benefit to bringing this connectivity to their customers,” Bushell said. “They asked, ‘What can we do to help facilitate this?… They truly see the economic benefits to producers with a network like this.” As a result, Paige Wireless will leverage, at a cost, the power districts’ infrastructure and the telecommunications infrastructure to bring their services to the end user.
Nelson explains it this way. “Custer Public Power is not doing anything in the internet service,” he said. “But maybe we can be the go-between.”
CPPD is currently working with local telecommunication companies on installing fiber cables to CPPD substations which will help CPPD with their own communication. In turn, it creates an opportunity for telecommunication companies and Paige Wireless.
“We want everyone in our service territory to have broadband. It’s broadband over cropland,” Nelson said.
Working with Paige Wireless is also going to help speed up communications for CPPD as well.
“We need that connectivity for our own use, too,” Nelson said. “We need sensors that we don’t have now.”
A practical use, as described by Nelson, would be to quickly sense trouble spots and power outages. If a sensor can identify a fault ten miles north of Mullen, CPPD can have a crew on the way
faster. “The more sensors we have, the more we can pinpoint problems,” Nelson said. CPPD would be using the same technology that a rancher can use to check a water tank 30 miles away and be able to know when the water is low, Nelson explained.
Currently if there is a power outage, CPPD learns about it through customer reports. A crew is dispatched, however depending upon the location, it may take some time to locate the exact trouble spot. With sensors relaying data real-time, CPPD will know about the problem sooner and have a crew on the way to the exact spot. As a result, the downtime of customers can be reduced.
Nelson emphasized that CPPD is not entering the internet provider business. Rather, with better connections to sub-stations, they can communicate better internally as well as partner with Paige Wireless on helping bring connectivity to farmers and ranchers. “We want our customers to have the same connectivity,” Nelson said. “Every green and red tractor and combine can have connectivity.”
Both Nelson and Bushell said the network and its possibilities are the results of collaboration and working together for a common goal. “We need to work together, if we’re going to make this happen,” Nelson said. “Let’s play like Nebraskans and go out and make this happen.”