Quectel is enabling reliable, real-time connectivity for beekeeping operations across New Zealand and Australia, helping drive smarter, more efficient hive management.

The Apiary Master device comes with Quectel EG21-powered direct-to-cell connectivity for the commercial beekeeping industry.

Apiary provides the iAPIS operations management platform through the provision of the EG21-G Mini PCIe LTE Cat 1 module integrated into the Apiary Master device.

The iAPIS system delivers operational oversight across works management, asset tracking, harvest and extraction, and hive condition monitoring. Purpose-built for the beekeeping industry, iAPIS hardware, including Apiary Masters, hive scales, hive monitors and environmental sensors, is engineered to track bee health and productivity even in remote locations beyond traditional network coverage.

The Quectel EG21 is used in the Apiary Master hub device, an IoT device used by beekeepers to collect data from various sensor devices in an apiary. The Apiary Master is a solar powered battery device equipped with wifi to communicate with sensor devices and uses the Quectel EG21 to send data to the iAPIS servers via the Starlink direct-to-cell (DTC) network. The DTC network is compatible with LTE Cat 1 IoT modems and provides critical connectivity to companies such as Apiary with remote LTE deployments outside of terrestrial coverage.

“We’re proud to have been selected for this world-first deployment by Apiary,” said Yasu Okada, senior sales director at Quectel (www.quectel.com). “The Apiary Master is delivering substantial benefits to beekeepers and showcases the benefits of the One NZ partnership with the SpaceX DTC network. The Quectel EG21-G offers the form factors, low power consumption and performance that beekeepers need to manage their hives efficiently and we look forward to working with Apiary as it continues to develop.”

The iAPIS monitor will become one of the first commercially available IoT devices in the world to use the Starlink DTC network (www.starlink.com/gb/business/direct-to-cell). The Apiary Master can be placed anywhere in New Zealand and is able to reach the iAPIS server via the One NZ DTC and terrestrial networks. This allows the device to be placed in areas that do not receive terrestrial LTE coverage, which differentiates it from similar IoT devices that only use terrestrial networks.

The Apiary Master also uses a standard SIM card from One NZ (one.nz) and the Quectel EG21 to reach the DTC network. This differentiates it from similar IoT devices that use other satellite networks with low-speed, small data package networks at high cost, as these devices require custom modems and cannot swap between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks using a single communications module.

“Beekeepers are improving bee health, hive yields, reducing costs and demonstrating a commitment to continuously adopting sustainable business practices employing the latest technology,” said Andrew Thompson, CEO of Apiary (apissolutions.co.nz). “We have had an excellent experience working with Quectel to date and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”

Apiary chose the EG21-G (www.quectel.com/product/lte-eg21-g-mpcie) because it is compatible with many telecommunications companies around the world including the Starlink DTC network. In addition, the module is priced competitively and is easily integrated into the company’s hardware and firmware architecture. The EG21-G is an LTE Cat 1 module that offers maximum speeds of 10Mbit/s downlink and 5Mbit/s uplink. Measuring 51 by 30 by 4.9mm, the module operates in temperatures from -40 to +80˚C.