To enlighten regional and rural Australians concerning the capabilities of Sky Muster®,  the new commercial satellite service of the National Broadband Network (nbn®),  Grain Growers Limited (GGL) is facilitating a series of community forums across New South Wales and Victoria in partnership with the nbn®, farming system groups, and other community organisations.
“The meetings are an opportunity for regional communities to find out more about the capabilities of the new satellite network and also the regional fixed wireless service,” GGL CEO Alicia Garden announced.
During the forum, participants can ask questions about the new Sky Muster® satellite service, find out how to connect or migrate to the new satellite service, discover the possibilities once the service is integrated into the subscriber’s property, learn how to optimise their property’s connectivity, and understand the data requirements for their business and family.
Ms Garden has emphasised that grain farmers, much like other business owners, depend on reliable Internet. She notes that grain growers are increasingly relying on Internet connectivity for cloud-based decision support systems, remote farm monitoring solutions, and automated farming machines.
“Farmers need fast and reliable connectivity for everyday business activities, such as banking.
Digital technology really represents the new frontier of productivity gains for farming businesses and having access to fast, reliable broadband is essential to allow access to these opportunities,” Ms Garden remarked.

What is GrainGrowers?
GrainGrowers Limited is a grain commodity member of the National Farmers’ Federation. It is  an independent organisation of grain producers that aims towards a more efficient, sustainable, and profitable grains industry for all Australian grain farmers.
GGL Chairman John Eastburn has mentioned that his organisation understands the critical role of telecommunications in the future of Australian farming business.
“Our members have consistently identified improved telecommunications as one of their biggest priorities, and it is an issue than influences the rural community as a whole, which is why we have decided to get involved with these forums,” he quipped.
Although some farmers are being left out at present, Mr Eastburn is hopeful that the new Sky Muster® satellite service will have a positive impact on network access.
“The fact is there are vast parts of the nation where the service isn’t up to scratch and people there aren’t getting the benefits of the improved technology available for their businesses. We are seeing all these apps and technologies that can have real benefit to farm businesses, but they don’t work if you don’t have the telecommunications systems to drive them.”

What is Sky Muster®?
Launched in October 2015, the Sky Muster® satellite is designed to provide fast Internet with increased capacity in rural and remote Australia that fall outside the fixed line and fixed wireless areas. The nbn® views it as the answer to the Internet needs of regional Australians and could provide broadband services equal to those available in metropolitan regions. It can transmit Internet data to satellite dishes on both residential and business premises.
Through the new Sky Muster® satellite service, farmers will be able to harness smart farming technologies, such as telemetry including data loggers, sensors, batteries, and transmission devices. It can help increase operational efficiencies like improved water and energy usage, optimisation of crop growth, and a lot more.

When is the Forum?
Here is the Sky Muster® community forum schedule in New South Wales and Victoria that Activ8me will be attending:
Forbes – Ex Services Club 2:00pm Monday 23 May
Grenfell – Bowling Club 8:30am Tuesday 24 May
Temora – Town Hall Theatre 2:00pm Tuesday 24 May
Griffith – Ex Services Club 8:30am Wednesday 25 May
Deniliquin – RSL Club 2:30pm Wednesday 25 May
Hamilton – 8:30am Tuesday 31 May
Horsham – 2:00pm Tuesday 31 May
 
Activ8me will be present to participate in the forum as an nbn® authorised Retail Service Provider (RSP).  The Activ8me team will be ready to answer all your questions about the new Sky Muster® service and  the nbn® broadband, help you get connected to fast Sky Muster® Plans, and provide the best nbn® Internet deals for your area.
The NBN’s Sky Muster® satellite brings better satellite Internet connectivity to regional Australia. To get onboard Sky Muster®, call Activ8me today 13 22 88 or visit: https://activ8me.net.au/internet/skymuster