Investing in Innovation to Connect More People in More Places

Caring for animals, managing a farm, and running a business is a 24/7 job, and that’s definitely true at Wells Bridge Farm. Located on the outskirts of Parker, Colorado, the farm boards, shows, trains, and coaches about 40 different horses and riders. But head trainer Jordyn Clarke doesn’t think of it as a job.

“I’ve loved horses since I was tiny. I’ve dreamed about as a kid getting to spend my life with them. The saying goes, if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life, and I feel like I get to do that here.”

Wells Bridge Farm is in a rural area, which provides plenty of space for the horses and riders, but also presents some unique challenges, particularly when it comes to connectivity. The lack of internet access throughout the farm created barriers for owner Dorothy Rohrbach and her team of trainers—caring for and monitoring the horses, managing the business side of Wells Bridge Farm, and providing a comfortable and inviting space for their clients were all made more difficult without access to reliable, high-speed internet.

When Bryan Hagedon, Director of Mobile Products on Charter's Wireless Innovation Team, moved to the area and brought his daughter to Wells Bridge for riding lessons, he saw an opportunity to develop Charter's technologies into real-world solutions at the farm.

Take a look at how Charter used innovative solutions to transform Wells Bridge Farm:

 

At Charter, we are committed to expanding our broadband network to more people in more places, including rural communities, and are continually looking for new and innovative ways to build out into some of the hardest to reach areas across the country. The location and setup of this farm presented Bryan’s team, along with the Wireless R&D team, with the ability to create a living lab to explore various technologies and bring real-world solutions to the farm.

 

By using Charter’s nearby existing network, the Wireless R&D team developed a proof-of-concept trial to not only connect the farm to broadband, but also show how it can be used to improve their operations and open doors they didn’t even know existed. Charter understands that connectivity comes in many forms, and through this test, our team was able to utilize various wireless technologies such as 5G, Wi-Fi, fixed wireless access, and low-range wide area network (LoRaWAN)—along with Internet of Things technologies—to create a comprehensive solution that worked for their unique needs.

“We’re able to take a look at video evidence of what horses are doing actively, we’re able to see when doors are opening and closing. I’m able to monitor temperature, we’re able to keep them more comfortable, healthier, happier. We can stop being reactive and start to be proactive.”

 

Charter’s innovative spirit drives us to explore solutions to connect remote areas and develop products that can have an impact on peoples’ lives. Charter is continuing to invest in expanding our broadband network, including through our rural construction initiative that will deliver reliable, high-speed connectivity to more than one million families that currently lack access. For Charter, expanding our rural network is not just a sound business decision—it’s an investment in the economies and futures of the communities we serve.