(Joe Buglewicz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
SpaceX’s next big market for Starlink could be farming equipment.
The company has reached a deal to install Starlink dishes on farming machinery from John Deere, which plans to offer the solution to customers in the second half of 2024.
John Deere has been expanding into automated farming equipment, like driverless tractors. The same automation can require access to the internet. But about 30% of land farmed in the US lacks access to high-speed broadband, John Deere told The Wall Street Journal.
The company is now tapping SpaceX to fill the connectivity gap. Starlink has already been delivering high-speed internet to US rural areas by relying on orbiting satellites to relay the broadband. Now it’ll try and target farmers looking to upgrade their equipment with a steady internet connection.
“This will fully enable technologies such as autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, enhanced self-repair solutions, and machine-to-machine communication, all of which help farmers work more efficiently while minimizing downtime,” John Deere added.
The deal also represents a win for SpaceX, which has been trying to increase revenue through Starlink, a satellite internet system that’s costing the company billions to operate and maintain.
“To activate this solution, John Deere dealers will install a ruggedized Starlink terminal on compatible machines, along with a 4G LTE JDLink modem to connect the machine to the John Deere Operations Center,” the farming equipment provider said.
There’s no word on pricing. But John Deere plans on offering the Starlink integration through a limited release for customers in the US and Brazil. In the meantime, SpaceX has already been selling Starlink dishes to business users with the hardware starting at $599 and monthly internet plans starting at $140.