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June 25, 2014

Wi-Fi tractors racing at Tour de France this summer

The tractors are to visit four of the busiest spots on the route.

By Amy-Jo Crowley

Spectators at the Tour de France in Yorkshire will benefit from free Wi-Fi this summer thanks to tractors.

The National Farmers Union (NFU), tractor manufacturer Massey Ferguson and satellite broadband firm Avonline have converted two vehicles into Wi-Fi hotspots, which will be installed at four of the busiest spots on the route.

During the first stage, one tractor will be located at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Visitor Centre in Hawes, where 5,000 spectators are expected, according to the NFU, while the other will be at the Visitor centre in Grassington.

Overnight, these will be moved to the Steel Stage event and High Bradfield and in Holme village at the foot of the Holme Moss climb.

Richard Pearson, NFU’s regional director, said: "We are really excited about this project and we hope it will add to people’s enjoyment of what will be an amazing event.

"It’s obvious spectators will want to use their phones to access visitor information and post pictures, tweets and so on. As we understand how frustrating a lack of broadband in rural areas can be, we wondered if this was something we could help with."

The announcement comes as music lovers at Glastonbury this weekend are set to benefit from super fast Wi-Fi for free thanks to a herd of cows powered by EE’s 4G network.

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