Mark Holmes

Five big ideas to improve the health of rural populations in the United States include "Modernize Rural Infrastructure." Rural internet service is essential for economic development but also increasingly for effective patient care with the growing use of remote patient monitoring and virtual care platforms. Telehealth, an evidence-based modality for many types of care, is possible only if patients and providers have broadband Internet service. Information technology upgrades are also needed in rural hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

US agricultural farming giant John Deere is likely to deepen its relationship with the satellite sector over the next few years. The company has a history with satellite and began to develop its StarFire Network in 1998. It was one world’s first global satellite-based augmentation systems capable of real-time accuracy within a quarter of an inch. John Deere is only one of a handful of companies that has its own global satellite correction network to enable this level of precision.