How to choose the right technology for your farm

Remote monitoring devices need a reliable way to send information from your farm to your phone or computer.

For most Australian farms with mobile coverage (i.e. your phone can connect to 4G), NB-IoT is usually the simplest place to start. Each device connects directly to the mobile network, so there is no private gateway to purchase, install, power or maintain.

LoRaWAN can be suitable for farms planning a large concentration of sensors within a defined area. Satellite connectivity is useful for remote locations where suitable cellular coverage is unavailable.

The best option depends on:

• Coverage at each monitoring location
• The number of devices required
• The distance and terrain between devices
• Installation and infrastructure costs
• How frequently data needs to be transmitted
• Whether alerts or remote control are required

Our general recommendation: Choose NB-IoT first when coverage is available.

NB-IoT is well suited to farm monitoring because it is designed for devices that send small amounts of data while using relatively little power.

A Farmo NB-IoT device communicates directly with the cellular network. It does not need farm Wi-Fi or a separately installed LoRaWAN gateway.

This makes NB-IoT particularly practical when:

• Devices are spread across different paddocks or properties
• You want to begin with one or two devices and add more over time
• There is no convenient location for a gateway
• You do not want to install and maintain additional network infrastructure
• Monitoring points are separated by hills, trees, buildings or long distances
• You need data and alerts to continue without relying on an on-farm internet connection
  

Each Farmo device includes the required SIM connectivity and sends its information directly to the Farmo platform.

Why NB-IoT works well for farms

No gateway required

Every NB-IoT device connects independently to the cellular network.

With a gateway-based system, every sensor must be able to communicate with the gateway. The gateway must then remain powered, connected to the internet and operational for those sensors to report.

With NB-IoT, a problem at one monitoring location does not create a single point of failure for every other device on the farm.

Easier to install

Farmo devices are designed to reduce the amount of communications infrastructure required on site.

You can install a device where the measurement needs to be taken rather than designing the entire installation around the position of a gateway.

Easy to expand

NB-IoT can be practical for both small and larger deployments.

You can begin by monitoring one important tank, trough, rain gauge or pump and add more devices as required. There is no need to justify the cost of a gateway before installing your first sensor.

Suitable for widely separated assets

Farm assets are rarely positioned neatly around one central point.

Tanks, pumps, gates, weather stations and water infrastructure may be kilometres apart or spread across multiple properties. Because cellular devices connect independently, the physical distance between Farmo devices does not limit their connectivity.

Designed for low-power monitoring

NB-IoT is designed for applications that send relatively small packets of information, such as:

• Tank and trough levels
• Rainfall
• Water pressure and flow
• Soil moisture
• Electric fence status
• Gate opening and closing
• Equipment status
• Temperature and weather measurements

It is not intended for high-bandwidth applications such as continuous video. It is designed for compact sensor readings, status updates and alerts.

When should you consider LoRaWAN?

LoRaWAN uses a private or shared gateway to collect messages from nearby sensors. The gateway then sends those messages to the internet using cellular connectivity, Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

It may be worth considering when:

• You intend to install a large number of compatible sensors
• Most sensors are concentrated within reliable range of one or more gateways
• You have suitable elevated gateway locations
• Reliable power and internet backhaul are available
• You are prepared to install and maintain your own network infrastructure
• Reducing the connectivity cost per device is more important than minimising installation complexity

LoRaWAN performance is affected by terrain, vegetation, buildings, antenna height and the position of the gateway. Advertised line-of-sight distances may not reflect performance on a particular farm.

A gateway also creates an additional dependency. If it loses power, internet access or connectivity with the sensors, the devices relying on it may stop reporting to the cloud.

For a dense deployment, the potential savings can justify this infrastructure. For a small number of widely dispersed devices, NB-IoT will often be simpler.

When should you choose satellite?

Satellite monitoring is designed for locations where suitable terrestrial coverage is unavailable.

It is particularly useful for:

• Very remote properties
• Isolated tanks or troughs
• Assets outside supported cellular coverage
• Locations where installing a gateway is impractical
• Essential monitoring points that would otherwise remain unconnected

Satellite devices can have higher hardware or connectivity costs and may transmit less frequently than cellular devices. However, they provide a valuable option where NB-IoT or other terrestrial networks cannot reliably reach.

Whatever technology you choose, the data your device sends and the data that you receive is the same. It doesn't matter how it gets there, just that it gets there. So choose the one that can do the job required at the lowest cost.

Which option should I choose?

For most customers, the decision can be simplified to three questions:

Is supported NB-IoT or cellular IoT coverage available?
Start with NB-IoT. It provides direct-to-cloud monitoring without requiring a gateway.

Click on the map below for Telstra NB-IoT coverage. The published coverage map is based on "modelling" and is a rough guide only. You will likely know where you can get signal on your farm in much better detail from your own experience.

Are you deploying a large number of sensors within a concentrated area?
LoRaWAN may be worth assessing against the cost and complexity of gateway infrastructure.

Is the location outside terrestrial coverage?
Consider a satellite monitoring device.

Start with the monitoring problem - not the network

The purpose of connectivity is to deliver useful information.

Begin by identifying what you need to monitor, where it is located and what action you need to take when conditions change. Farmo can then help determine the most suitable device and connectivity option for that location.

For most farms with supported cellular coverage, NB-IoT provides the simplest combination of installation, scalability and direct connectivity.

Explore Farmo remote monitoring devices