Colombia’s ICT Ministry tested direct-to-device satellite emergency messaging in Sumapaz, a rural area of Bogotá without terrestrial mobile coverage.
The pilot used an Android smartphone connected through Skylo’s non-terrestrial network and a Viasat satellite to send an SOS message from Los Tungos lagoon to an international emergency coordination center, which then contacted Bogotá’s C4 emergency center.
The test involved the ICT Ministry, ANE, CRC, Bogotá’s ICT Ministry, Bogotá C4, Skylo Technologies, and Viasat. Officials said the service remains a pilot and is not yet available for public use.
• Location: Sumapaz, rural Bogotá, Colombia
• Use case: Emergency SOS messaging outside cellular coverage
• Technology: Direct-to-device satellite communications / NTN
• Partners: Skylo Technologies and Viasat
• Government agencies: ICT Ministry, ANE, CRC, Bogotá C4
• Status: Pilot only; not yet implemented for citizens
“Skylo is proud to work alongside the Colombian government and our partners to bring the D2D service to communities across the country. Our network connects smartphones, wearables, and industrial devices directly via satellite, extending mobile coverage to wherever people live and work, so no one is out of reach. This is what becomes possible when satellite and mobile networks operate as one,” said Mindel de la Torre, Skylo’s Director of Global Regulatory Affairs.
| Profile: Skylo | |
|---|---|
| Company | Skylo Technologies |
| Focus | Standards-based non-terrestrial network services for direct-to-device satellite connectivity |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California |
| Leadership & Founders | Parthsarathi Trivedi (Co-Founder & CEO), Dr. Andrew Nuttall (Co-Founder & CTO), Tarun Gupta (Co-Founder & CPO), Dr. Andrew Kalman (Co-Founder & Chief Hub Architect) |
| Technology | 3GPP Release 17 NTN service enabling smartphones, wearables, vehicles, and IoT devices to connect via satellite |
| Network model | Cloud-native NTN vRAN, base station, and core software operating over satellite partner capacity |
| Key satellite partner | Viasat |
| Recent funding | $30 million round announced in February 2025, led by NGP Capital, with participation from Westly Group and existing investors |
| Notable investors | Intel Capital, Innovation Endeavors, BMW i Ventures, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Next47, Seraphim Space, NGP Capital, Westly Group |
🌐 Analysis: The Colombia pilot shows how D2D satellite services are moving from consumer messaging concepts toward public-safety and government resilience use cases. For Skylo and Viasat, the test adds a Latin American emergency-services reference point to a broader NTN strategy built around standards-based satellite connectivity for ordinary mobile and IoT devices.
