SkyNet de Colombia and SES Networks increase connectivity in Colombian Amazonas. Photo: SES via Business Wire

SES Networks and Colombian services provider SkyNet have increased network capacity to support COVID-19 mitigation efforts in the Colombian department of Amazonas. SES announced Monday that SkyNet used SES Networks’ Signature Solutions to deliver connectivity services to local residents, businesses, government entities and the San Rafael de Leticia Hospital. Amazonas has the highest COVID-19 infection rate and lowest internet penetration in the country.

The Colombian Ministry of Telecommunications selected SkyNet to install, operate, and maintain five free Wi-Fi hotspots in Leticia to connect residents, as well as a high-speed dedicated broadband service for the local hospital’s medical and administrative teams to carry out telemedicine sessions and other eHealth activities. These services use SES’s O3b Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellation. SkyNet is the incumbent provider in Leticia, and has been leveraging SES’s O3b MEO services since 2015 to connect remote Colombian regions. 

“Today, information and communication technologies bring access to education, remote work and even telemedicine, and it is evident that with the health crisis of COVID-19, remote Colombian regions are worst-hit due to the lack of connectivity,” said Diego Moreno Lugo, CEO of SkyNet of Colombia. “The O3b service experience we are giving is very close to fiber optics and it is the best answer in satellite technology today. It brings great social impact, since it expands opportunities for education and health, and it has been without a doubt a great advancement for this entire community.”