Photo: Michael Godfrey
Federated Farmers is demanding urgent action from both mobile companies and the government over often unreliable rural connectivity.
A Fed Farmers annual connectivity survey found that for many, mobile coverage is still patchy and unreliable - both on-farm and on provincial highways.
A third of the 600 farmers surveyed said their coverage had actually got worse.
According to the survey, mobile coverage currently averages only 57 percent of farmland - a figure unchanged since 2022.
Fed Farmers says while more farmers are connected to 4G and 5G, dropouts remain widespread, causing major issues for everyday operations and also safety.
The survey also highlights worries over the removal of copper landlines, with the vast majority of those due to be disconnected said to have still have not found a replacement option. Kathryn speaks to Mark Hooper, Federated Farmers telecommunications spokesperson and Craig Young the head of the telecommunications user's group, TUANZ.
