CNH Farm Machines Connect to Any Network, Anywhere, Anytime with “Bring Your Own Connectivity”

Customer-first approach to network compatibility keeps CNH machines connected worldwide, regardless of existing network infrastructure.

Internet connectivity is essential to farming today; it is the driving force behind the precision technologies that help farmers save time, money, and critical resources. These technologies ultimately help farmers expand their operational capacity to sustain a growing world.

However, connectivity can be challenging because most of the world’s farming happens in rural areas without traditional access to the Internet. Farms, and even single fields, can stretch across many different network coverage areas or ranges accessible by different satellite band communications. In many cases, customers have created their own private broadband networks by erecting their own cell towers or will create a Wi-Fi mesh network to supplement the available connectivity for their farm. With this patchwork of access points, in-field jobs are consistently interrupted, which hinders job quality and leads to more mistakes.

CNH solves this challenge by automatically connecting machines to the best available internet solution, regardless of access point. Our “Bring Your Own Connectivity (BYOC)” approach makes connectivity more accessible for farmers by allowing them to connect to the Internet using any available network or hotspot — satellite, cell tower, or Wi-Fi. It’s as easy as connecting a cell phone to an existing Wi-Fi network, as it automatically joins the network when it enters the router or hotspot’s range.

Unlike competitive solutions, CNH BYOC is not tethered to a specific, single provider’s communications network. CNH connects seamlessly across 192 different cellular carriers, often switching between cellular providers within a single field. In parts of the field where cellular access is unavailable, BYOC uses Wi-Fi, mobile hotspots, private LTE, and satellite to bridge the gap.  This gives farmers the freedom to efficiently get the job done without worrying about entering “dead zones” within their fields. Instead of dropping the signal, the machine sometimes transcends four or five different access points automatically for a smooth, uninterrupted drive. Or, when the power grid and cell towers go down — a common occurrence in remote areas in Latin America and Europe — it reconnects to a satellite-based access point. Whatever the case may be, the CNH machine will find the best connectivity source and automatically connect with it. This makes CNH’s approach to connectivity the most intuitive solution for farmers, especially in rural environments where stable traditional cellular connection is not guaranteed.

“We want to empower our customers to do what they need to do for their farm, and our BYOC solution lets them make the best decision for their operation,” commented Dan Eslinger, Vice President of Precision & Vehicle Electronics for CNH. “Since December 2022, we have enabled our customers to connect our machines to their own connectivity in whatever form works best for them, whether it's private Wi-Fi networks, private narrow-band radio networks, satellite connectivity, or cellular."

Solving Customers’ Connectivity Challenges

CNH released Bring Your Own Connectivity technology with one goal in mind: to make connectivity more accessible for customers around the world. CNH continues to explore partnerships with a variety of Internet service partners. As a byproduct of developing BYOC, CNH expanded its network of connectivity options for farmers worldwide — and continues to do so.

“We’ve been having conversations with satellite connectivity partners for years to ensure that our machines work with whatever connectivity our customers want to use. As a result, we have best in class connectivity across the globe.”  - Dan Eslinger, VP, Precision & Vehicle Electronics 

As one of the first major global equipment brands to use satellite communications, CNH offers a robust global connectivity network with 192 carriers in 144 countries. This is an increase of 9500% in cellular carrier options over the last three years, showcasing our commitment to finding more options for our customers to succeed. So, CNH customers are definitely not “left to their own devices” when it comes to robust industrial connectivity options. While satellite connectivity might be a new announcement for our competitors, for us, it’s another way that we’ve been committed to putting the Customer First for years.

To make connectivity accessible to everyone, BYOC is free to all CNH customers — allowing anyone to connect to any network, anytime, anywhere. This empowers them to get more done each day and helps them serve a growing world.

Customers interested in using CNH’s BYOC technology can contact their local Case IH, New Holland, Steyr, or CASE Construction Equipment dealer to find the best connectivity solution for their farming operations.