IAN WARE AUGUST 2017

On-farm Connectivity

• Improve efficiency and profit with time and labour savings

• Improvements in Water use efficiency

• Increases in production and yields

• Making more informed farm management decisions

• Access to information and advisers real-time

Why adopt new technology?

TECHNOLOGY

• Connectivity is the limiting factor in the adoption of new technology, particularly in rural areas.

• Connectivity infrastructure is an investment that can be used for multiple applications

• Farm-wide connectivity is what we need to aim for

• Maximising the speed and coverage of your internet service will provide the best access to information and services as well as allowing the adoption of new technologies

Adopting New Technology

Internet Options Preference

1. NBN Fibre

2. NBN Wireless

3. ADSL 2+

4. NBN “Skymuster” Satellite

5. 4G/3G Mobile Broadband

6. Relay of NBN Wireless

The relaying of NBN Wireless is the most expensive option, but only in initial setup costs. NBN Skymuster is a cheaper option, with the relay being considered for clients with large download requirements or clients using software not compatible with the satellite service (cloud based services, Virtual Private Networking)

• NBN Fibre and NBN Wireless currently being rolled out in Australia

• NBN Fibre is available in cities and major centres only so NBN Wireless is the most likely form of NBN in rural locations, and Satellite for more isolated regions

• www.nbnco.com.au

• Limited connections, so when it does become available sign up fast

National Broadband Network (NBN)

Fixed Wireless / WiMax

• In rural areas most users will have some form of wireless internet connection – NBN is not the only provider (Internode, Countrytel)

• Fixed Wireless connections have a directional antenna mounted on the exterior of your building pointing at a tower– Need line of sight to the NBN tower, be within 14km of the tower

Modem Selection Matters

• Do not choose the cheapest router options when signing up for NBN services

• Ensure you have an AC3200 protocol modem (rather than N or slower AC models)

• Highly recommend the Netgear Nighthawk series

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Wireless Speed (Mbps)

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Please note: the wireless protocol speed is the connection speed between your wireless devices and your modem, NOT the speed of your internet connection

NBN Rollout Map – are there planned towers?

Creating your own Connectivity

NBN Tower

NBN Panel within

footprint:4 connections

per panel

Relays where direct line of sight

from A-B is not possible

Sector Antennas1 transmitter to multiple

receivers

Router 4 individual transmitters

and receivers

Do I have line of sight? Link Analysis

• 30x more capacity than the Interim Satellite Service (ISS)

• 135Gbps of capacity compared to just 4Gbps on the Interim Satellite Service (ISS)

• Services are being sold and installed, but waiting lists are months for installation

• Nominally either a 12/1Mbps or a 25/5Mbps service but with peaks and troughs, latency issues

• DO NOT exceed your data allowance, NBN Fair Use Policy has very strict usage

• Some services, particularly cloud based apps may not work with the satellite system due to latency

• Education Allowance to increase download limit

NBN “Skymuster” Satellite Service

3G/4G Mobile Internet Coverage

– The signal strength is affected by weather conditions, terrain, distance from the nearest transmission tower and the number of other users on the network

– The reliability and speed of your service can be improved with the use of an external antenna

– Voice and data need to be addressed separately

– Use Cradle for cabled connections

Telstra 790 Modem $149

Netgear CradleFrom $230

3G / 4G Mobile Broadband Antennas

• For best results use 2 antennas for each device

• 3G/4G Antenna NOT a car antenna

• Make sure the antenna is designed for the frequencies you need to access

• Do not split the signal from the antenna to other devices such as Cel-Fi mobile phone repeater

Log Periodic Antenna

with plastic cover - 11dB gainParabolic/Grid Antennastypical gain 16-21dBAvailable in frequencies 1700 – 2500Mhz

RFI Wide-band MIMO4G Panel Antenna

8dB gainFrequencies 700 – 2700MHz

Yagi Log Periodic AntennaTypical gain 9- 12dBAvailable in frequencies300 – 3000MHz

AMAYSIM – Mobile Data Plans with lots of data

• No lock in contracts

• Optus 4G+ network

Tower Locations: Search

• Oztowers.com

As well as NBN tower searches, this site is also useful for locating phone towers which will assist in setting up directional antennas for phone/mobile broadband devices

Improving Phone Reception at Home

•• Cel-Fi is a mobile phone repeater system

• Need 1 bar of signal to start with

• Great for areas with generally low signal levels and buildings with steel or stone/concrete construction

• Cel-Fi boosts voice signal not data signal• Antenna should be yagi or log periodic designed for 850Mhz

and should NOT be a car antenna

• Mobile phone repeaters need to be legal

• Cost from $800 - $1200 depending on your antenna option

• Telstra refer to this device as a “Smart Antenna”

Source: Telcoantennas.com.au

Farm-wide Connectivity

• Mobile Phone based

• WiFi internet based

• You may choose to use a combination of the two – for example Mobile Phone based in vehicles and machinery and WiFi to sheds, yards etc

Cel-Fi GO

Car Kit / Cradle Cel-Fi GO

Passive signal repeater Active Signal Repeater

+9db gain with 2m tall antenna (+3dB for smaller) +70dB gain

Is Network specific (Telstra vs Optus/Vodafone versions)

Get installed professionally – antenna location is critical for performance

Phone must be in the cradle to get signal boost Phone must be within 500m of repeater (up to 2km by using a 2nd repeater in line)

Cost around $200- $400 installed Cost from $990

Mesh networking / Farm-wide connectivity

Are you getting what you pay for?

• In short…..NO

• Most farmers on wireless subscribe to 12/1 or 25/5 through NBN, but lucky to receive more than 4Mbps

• Customers forced off ADSL and Cable as NBN becomes available further slowing the system

Source: The Australian

Choose your ISP wisely

• Who is responsible for the discrepancy between the advertised speed and what customers are actually getting? NBN say ISP…. ISP say NBN or customer hardware/settings

• ISPs are not the same, check customer service and shaping as well as throttling policies

• Each ISP buys bandwidth from NBN based on its expected customer base and expected usage. If the ISP underestimates usage or has oversold their capacity, customers will experience a decline in connection speed.

• ISPs with their own infrastructure tend to outperform others (iinet, Optus, TPG, Telstra)

“Throttling” or “Shaping”

• The reality is that ISPs can and do “throttle” your connection based on algorithms set to detect patterns in internet usage usually associated with streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix.

• Some sites and services can be mistaken for streaming services – like a constant weather watch service

• Throttling can result in slower speeds for 24- 48 hours

• Using a VPN can alleviate this issue

VPNs

• Virtual Private Network

• Encrypts the data

• Is a legitimate and legal service used by individuals and large corporates alike to ensure privacy and data protection

• Use VPN at the router level so that all devices are protected

Current media scare campaigns have labelled VPN users as internet pirates and terrorists

Peplink and Balance Routers

Switch between 2 different NBN connection or even from NBN to Mobile Broadband in the event of an internet outage

Combine multiple connections via Speedfusion to increase bandwidth and speed

1 + 1 ≠ 2 (20% loss)

Combine ADSL, Mobile Broadband and NBN connections

Take home messages

• Connectivity is the infrastructure that underpins the adoption of new technology in agriculture

• Figure out which technologies will most benefit your farm and then work out the best way to implement those technologies

• Farm wide connectivity is the goal

Resources

• Mobile Phone Signal guidehttp://www.mobilenetworkguide.com.au/pdf/Mobile-Network-Guide-Improving-Mobile-Signal.pdf

• Oztowers.com

• Peplink /Speedfusion: http://www.wirelesstech.com.au

• State of the internet – Akamai quarterly reporthttps://www.akamai.com/us/en/about/our-thinking/state-of-the-internet-report/

IAN WARE AUGUST 2017

Thank youM: 0412 487 671E: ian@apasound.com.au

@APAsoundAVAPA SoundApasoundAV