Halter and One NZ bring virtual fencing to every farm.
Kiwi beef farmers can now connect their cattle to satellites and access data from anywhere on their farms, in even the most rugged and remote parts of New Zealand.
Halter has recently launched world-first satellite agritech, meaning farmers no longer
need traditional cellphone coverage or physical on-farm towers to connect their smart cow collars.
“We’ve spent months testing and developing this, and the feedback from farmers has been incredibly positive,” says Helen Moore, vice president of commercial strategy at Halter.
“They’ve told us that this is unlocking their farms. All of a sudden they can access this technology and graze their cattle anywhere, regardless of terrain.”
Virtual fencing via satellite, no towers required
This is a significant advancement for Halter, which has already sold more than a million of its solar-powered, GPS-enabled cattle collars across the globe.
Each collar tracks an individual cow, and information is fed back to the Halter app. This allows farmers to use their Android or Apple device to monitor their animals, manage pasture, and use virtual fencing.
For years, Halter had focused on the dairy sector, with connectivity delivered via long-range radio towers installed on farms. And while the collars themselves work for both dairy and beef cattle, the towers were proving a barrier for beef operations.
“Towers are still the best option for Halter dairy farmers, but beef farmers are often on more extensive and remote hill country that make it harder to install towers and achieve coverage,” Moore explains.
The Halter team had been considering direct-to-satellite smart collars for several years, but in the past, the amount of data from each collar couldn’t be transmitted in a cost-effective way.
Now, thanks to tech advancements and a partnership with One NZ Satellite, powered by Starlink, Halter is the first company in the world to offer virtual fencing via satellite. Terrain no longer needs to be a factor for farmers who want to manage their herds using smart collars.
“It’s plug and play,” says Moore. “Collars on, good to go. This is exciting for us, and it’s great for farmers.”
Improving connectivity for Kiwi farmers
Rural connectivity has long been a problem for Kiwi farmers, with mobile networks providing terrestrial coverage on only around 57% of farmland, according to the 2025 Rural Connectivity Survey by Federated Farmers.
This is no longer a barrier for Halter customers, thanks to One NZ Satellite, which provides coverage across the entire country where there’s line of sight to the sky. One NZ were the first in New Zealand to launch a direct-to-cell mobile service to their customers late 2024, and by mid-2025, One NZ launched the world’s first nationwide Internet of Things (IoT) service, which paved the way for connecting Halter collars.
“It’s been a great partnership,” says Moore.
“We spent a lot of time with the One NZ team who provided technical expertise across our hardware and collar communications teams. They also visited Halter customer farms throughout the process to understand how the technology needs to work in practice.
“Their focus on getting better connectivity to rural New Zealand is really impressive. As well as connecting their collars, One NZ Satellite means farmers can use their phones and tablets anywhere on their farm to manage their land and animals on the Halter app, as well as text and use other apps to keep in touch with their families.”
Award-winning satellite tech leads the world
Although Halter is launching their direct-to-satellite collar technology globally, their partnership with One NZ has allowed it to launch here before anywhere else in the world.
“It was really easy working with One NZ to get the network ready to go, and it’s been such a brilliant solution for customers,” Moore says.
“Working with One NZ has been great and we’re excited to see how the partnership keeps growing. It’s also great to see these agritech innovations advancing, and satellite technology will speed this up.”
One NZ just won a 2026 Canstar Innovation Excellence Award for One NZ Satellite, which links to more than 650 Starlink direct-to-cell satellites and is enabled not only for Halter’s app, but for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Maps, AllTrails, Plan My Walk, Accuweather, GetHomeSafe, and X, among others. This enables rural communities to connect when outside of traditional mobile coverage.
Moore says the Halter team is looking forward to watching the expansion of satellite services in the business – both because it’s a massive leap ahead in connectivity for Kiwi farmers, and because it will enable Halter to grow its share of the beef farming market significantly.
“It was so great to see those collars lighting up as they connected with the satellite for the first time,” says Moore. “Bringing this kind of technology to farms is so exciting. We can’t wait to see what other products emerge.”
One NZ Satellite: TXT/MMS in minutes and use data on select apps. Requires eligible phone/device and plan/IoT plan. Requires line of sight to the sky. Limited app features. Paid Add-On may apply. Terms, fair use, standard MMS charges and capacity control applies. See one.nz/satellite
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