The internet of cows: 5G has already arrived for this herd

Telecom companies around the world are racing to claim the latest 5G milestones, but one lucky group has got there before most of us: a herd of Friesian dairy cows in the UK, Reuters reports.

Say what? Cisco is testing out its network infrastructure for 5G in three rural locations in the UK, including a farm where cows wear a 5G-connected collar that controls a robot milking system.

How it works: It means the gates to the milking area can be opened automatically. The 5G-connected collars and health-monitoring ear tags also transmit biometric data and help workers monitor the herd from afar.

The context: 5G is the next generation of mobile connectivity, and it promises to give us super-fast speeds, enabling all sorts of technology like driverless cars (or, in the meantime, just letting you download that film a lot more quickly). It’s unlikely any country will achieve nationwide coverage before 2023, though.

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