IoT in Precision Agriculture: A Telnyx Customer Story

Leading precision agriculture innovation in the Middle East, this company is on a mission to ensure every piece of fruit reaches its full potential. Their proprietary autonomous sensors powered by Telnyx's IoT SIM cards help to align produce with market demands, ensuring farmers, packing houses, and marketers can maximize profitability through streamlined inventory management.

Agri-tech: Embracing IoT for growth

The technology allows fruits to be quantified and sized directly on trees, as fruit size is a critical determinant of market price and profitability. Their autonomous plug-and-play size measurement sensors—easily mountable on any farm vehicle—enable more fruits to be picked and sold to the right buyer. Equipped with the proprietary sensors, growers can optimize yield to market demand and significantly reduce food waste.

Key to the company’s operation is having reliable connectivity in remote areas, which is enabled by multi-network SIM cards. Telnyx SIMs enable seamless communication between the autonomous sensors and the cloud for real-time data upload and analysis. Telnyx SIMs provide automatic network failover, so if one network suffers an outage, the SIMs seamlessly connect to another network for always-on connectivity. This capability is essential in rural areas where network coverage can be patchy.

Expanding roots beyond local limits

During their R&D phase, the company grappled with the limitations of local SIM cards. The situation became untenable as their ambitions stretched beyond local horizons to the global agricultural stage. The logistical nightmare of juggling multiple SIM cards from different regional providers threatened to stifle their growth.

The trade-off was clear: Continue with the cumbersome process of managing multiple local SIMs which came with their own set of challenges and limitations, or find a single provider capable of offering a unified global service. Although the latter option required upfront investments and the challenge of finding the right partner, it also promised a streamlined operation and reduced complexity in the long run.

As the agricultural IoT sensors gained traction, the company began a search for a solution that could bridge the gap between their local success and their global aspirations: a unified, scalable IoT solution for connectivity and data management across borders.

Planting the seed with Telnyx

This search led to Telnyx, which offered both a global SIM solution and a comprehensive platform that simplified data management across borders. With Telnyx, they could efficiently manage their sensor data by leveraging a single, scalable solution that eliminated the complexities of managing multiple providers. Furthermore, manufacturing every device with the same single-SKU SIM card (no matter where in the world it will be deployed) meant they could ship any device to any market worldwide. This choice simplified their deployment strategy and meant they could move inventory between markets if needed.

This global solution came with significant benefits:

• Reduced operational hassle.
• Enhanced efficiency.
• The freedom to focus on their core mission of advancing agricultural technology.

The journey with Telnyx began with a critical phase of onboarding and testing, where they leveraged Telnyx's global SIM solution and comprehensive management platform. The phase was crucial for ensuring the sensors' performance and reliability met the company’s high standards, setting a strong foundation for the partnership.

The relationship between the agri-tech company and Telnyx flourished over time. As their requirements expanded, so did support from Telnyx, leading to notable improvements in device performance and reliability. This partnership ensured consistent data transmission and connectivity, elements that are vital for operations in remote agricultural areas.

Cultivating future success

The company is poised for significant expansion, aiming to increase sales in existing markets in the Middle East and expand its customer reach globally, with a vision to become the leader in agricultural technology.

Partnering with Telnyx is integral to growth, merging state-of-the-art autonomous sensors with Telnyx's reliable connectivity to navigate the complexities of global agricultural markets and unlock new opportunities.

Their journey from facing local constraints to a streamlined global operation exemplifies the company's commitment to innovation and their relentless pursuit of solutions that elevate farm efficiency worldwide.

FAQ

What is an IoT SIM card for agriculture? An IoT SIM card is a machine-to-machine SIM designed for sensors, gateways, trackers, and controllers on farms. It enables fleet-level control, longer lifecycles, private networking options, and multi-network roaming for reliable field coverage.

What is the difference between an IoT SIM and a regular SIM? IoT SIMs provide enterprise controls like private APNs, IMEI locking, pooled data, and remote provisioning, while consumer SIMs prioritize voice and personal messaging. They are optimized for low data use, headless operation, rugged conditions, and long-term deployments.

Can I use an IoT SIM card in my phone? Yes, most IoT SIMs will attach to a smartphone for basic connectivity, which is useful for testing coverage and APN settings. Many plans restrict voice and person-to-person texting and enforce data-only policies, so they are not suitable as your primary personal SIM.

What are examples of IoT in agriculture that use cellular SIMs? Common use cases include soil and weather sensors, irrigation and pump controllers, livestock tracking, machinery telematics, and remote cameras. Camera traps and crop scouting can transmit photos using MMS messaging, which packages images with descriptive text when lightweight telemetry is not enough.

How do IoT SIMs maintain connectivity in rural areas? Use SIMs and modems that support multi-network roaming, rural-friendly frequency bands, and LTE-M or NB-IoT where available. High-gain antennas, robust enclosures, and store-and-forward buffering help devices ride out weak signal and intermittent coverage.

How much data do farm sensors use, and how can I control costs? Typical sensors send only a few kilobytes per reading, so costs are driven by reporting frequency, batching, compression, and edge filtering. For human alerts, prefer text-only SMS and reserve images for critical cases because SMS vs MMS differs significantly in payload size, delivery behavior, and cost.

How can field devices send images or video over cellular? Devices can upload imagery to cloud storage over HTTPS, or use an MMS API to deliver photos directly to operator phones without a custom app. Video requires much higher bandwidth and power, so consider short clips, on-device compression, or opportunistic Wi-Fi backhaul.