On Sunday 22 August 2021, Zetifi was announced as a recipient of $932,850 in funding from the Australian Government as part of the 5G Innovation Initiative.
This funding will enable Zetifi to upgrade our existing range of long-range portable gateway devices to 5G and rigorously evaluate applications the 5G network in commercial trials with various agricultural industry stakeholders across Australia. Our long-range Wi-Fi capability will increase the usable range of high-speed and low-latency 5G in rural and remote areas.
The trials will showcase applications of 5G connectivity in autonomous farm vehicles, advanced smart-farm machinery, on-farm auctions, drone data transmission, and the needs of roaming rural workforces. These trials will be delivered in partnership with a large number of leading agtech and agribusiness partner companies including Case IH, SwarmFarm Robotics, Elders, Nutrien Ag, Delta Agribusiness and AuctionsPlus.
Each trial will be comprehensively evaluated by Birchip Cropping Group and the findings will be published as a series of case studies showcasing the benefits of 5G for different agribusinesses across Australia.
Through demonstrating the benefits of 5G technology in agriculture, the project will raise the awareness of 5G in rural and regional Australia and encourage telecommunications carriers to accelerate the deployment of 5G infrastructure in rural locations.