Farmers warned to upgrade as 3G shutdown looms
As the clock ticks towards the 3G mobile network shutdown, farmers are being warned to upgrade or risk losing connection to their supply chain.
Rural internet suppliers have improved their time-of-day (TOD) performance over the last 12 months, now matching ADSL and VDSL in urban areas.
The internet speed monitoring company TrueNet says time-of-day variances on fixed wireless are worse than ADSL, but the actual speeds overall are faster.
TrueNet says TOD is a critical performance criterion and ISPs serving the rural sector have responded by matching standard connections with Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) funded connections at 95% or better.
The company says fixed wireless is now a viable and successful technology in rural regions and places between ADSL and VDSL in performance.
“As fixed wireless gains in popularity it’s expected to suffer from some congestion as demand grows, so it’s good to see that the rural wireless speed has settled around 78% of best hour speed.”
The chair of the country's environmental regulator, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), says changes are already under way to improve the performance of the agency to better meet the needs of those who interface with them.
Alliance Group's $16 million programme to install innovative heat pump systems at its Otago and Southland processing plants wins a New Zealand Energy Excellence Award after cutting annual emissions by more than 24,000 tonnes of CO₂e.
The arable sector losing good people and land is a major concern for the 2026 Arable Farmers of the Year, Mid Canterbury seed growers John and Mel McCaw.
The terrible floods that hit the Wairarapa may have subsided, but the danger to farmers still exists, according to local Federated Farmers president Rob Hickson.
New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) encourages afforestation while not achieving climate goals, says a new report released by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
Are you ready for El Nino? That’s the question asked by Beef+Lamb NZ’s Ian Tarbotton who leads B+LNZ’s farm extension service.

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