COMMECT was represented at the 31st IEEE ICE/ITMC Conference in Valencia, Spain, by Per Jonny Nesse (Telenor Research & NTNU), who presented the paper “Digital innovations for rural industry create socio-economic and environmental impacts,” co-authored with Gabriel Linton and Anne Jørgensen Nordli.

COMMECT is pleased to announce its Final Stakeholder Event, which will take place on 10 July 2025 at the Olive Research Institute in Bornova, İzmir, Türkiye (Üniversite Caddesi No. 43). This concluding gathering offers an opportunity for project partners, regional farmers, service providers and other sector stakeholders to come together for a day of demonstrations, discussions and hands-on workshops.

COMMECT was present at the 21st IEEE International Conference on Factory Communication Systems (WFCS), where Alejandro Ramírez Arroyo (Aalborg University) and David Pradas (Viveris Technologies) led the special session "Communication Technologies for Rural Areas and Sustainable Agriculture

COMMECT has launched a strategic collaboration with two leading initiatives in Brazil. To foster a two-way exchange of expertise, COMMECT’s coordinator, Maria Rita Palattella, traveled to Rio Grande do Sul to work alongside local stakeholders, explore existing Living Labs and co-design solutions that blend terrestrial networks, satellite links and IoT platforms.

How can digital and connected solutions improve forestry? NTNU master’s students are exploring this question as part of the course "Expert in Teams – IoT: Smart Digitalization of Forestry and Rural Areas." Their work is inspired by COMMECT’s Norway Living Lab, which focuses on developing connectivity solutions for rural industries. 

Today is International Day of Forests. Therefore we want to highlight the work done in COMMECT’s Norway Living Lab. The lab explores how rural connectivity and digital tools can help improve forest monitoring, sustainability, and planning.

It’s also a good day to remember that forests are important to us. They help the environment, and support biodiversity, but also an important resource for rural communities. All in all, very important for the future of our planet.

Science moves forward when everyone has a seat at the table. On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science we highlighted the brilliant engineers, agronomists and data scientists who keep COMMECT moving—from vineyard imaging in Luxembourg to AI-powered forest monitoring in Norway. Their collective expertise reminds us that inclusive research teams deliver better, more relevant innovations for rural communities.

COMMECT was honored to join a delegation to visit by engaging with stakeholders of UK FCDO-funded Connected Turkiye project, at CATAPULT’s Westcott and Harwell campuses, Rothamptead Research, Ofcom and Dorset’s partners. 

The visit included workshops, discussions, and visits to get insights about the latest research, 5G connectivity, and digital innovation for rural areas. COMMECT works to strengthen collaborations to develop sustainable and smart solutions in agriculture. Our representative for the meeting was Izzet Saglam

The COMMECT project will organize a Special Session (SS8) on Communication Technologies for Rural Areas and Sustainable Agriculture at the 21st IEEE WFCS 2025 conference, taking place in Rostock, Germany, from June 10-13, 2025.

The COMMECT work-package leaders gathered in Copenhagen for an intensive two-day workshop hosted by Aarhus University and the Danish Living Lab team. With plenty of coffee, good food and intense whiteboard sessions, we reviewed the outcomes of the last six months. Discussion about field-tests across all five Living Labs and the Decision Support Tool (being named a top EU Innovation Radar pick!).  Mapped out the sprint to project close. Highlights included a guest talk on digital livestock transport.