- John Deere's CTO said that its private 5G will stand the test of time
- The company's journey to private 5G started in 2020
- The company will spend $1.7 million on updated smart tools this year
John Deere's CTO told Fierce during a roundtable that the company's private 5G architecture will "stand the test of time."
“For a relatively modest investment you can create an architecture that will stand the test of some period of time,” CTO Jahmy Hindman said of private 5G. "I have enough bandwidth and the latency is okay."
As a result, the CTO doesn’t expect the company will make a speedy move to upgrade to 6G when that new cellular standard comes online in 2030. Deere will continue to utilize the private 5G networks deployed in its plants in Iowa and Illinois well into the future.
“It is never too soon to think about new technology [but] we won’t be an early adopter is my guess,” Hindman told Fierce during an exclusive media roundtable last week.
Full steam ahead with 5G
Before going full steam ahead on 5G, John Deere had “this large installed base that wasn’t very flexible," using paper to record how parts were made and processed, according to Hindman. The company initially moved to fixed Ethernet and Wi-Fi coverage and later to private 5G.
John Deere's field to 5G
The path to private 5G has been a journey all of its own for John Deere. It started when the smart industrial manufacturer obtained 5G licenses in five counties in Iowa and Illinois as part of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) 3.5 GHz spectrum. Since then, the manufacturer has slowly rolled out 5G using Nokia radios in plants like the Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois, and the Davenport Works in Iowa, which builds construction and forestry equipment.
Even as 5G is installed, Deere plans to move over time to what Jason Wallin, principal architect of infrastructure and operations at the firm called the “80-10-10 model.” Which means that 80% of the coverage will be handled by private 5G, 10% by Wi-Fi, and 10% by wired Ethernet, which managed connections to the robotic arms in the massive enclosed painting room on the factory tour.
Wallin noted that 5G-enabled tools, such as smart torque wrenches, have only recently started to arrive on the factory floor.
The company noted that it will spend $1.7 million on updated smart tools in 2025.
We've got plenty more to come form our visit to John Deere. Check out all our coverage right here.
Ed. Note: This story was updated on April 1, 2025, at 9:45 AM ET.