On the night of December 2, 2024 in London, SSPI and its UK Chapter held their annual Dinner to present Awards to three individuals and organizations that have made the world a far better place through their efforts. In this podcast series, you will hear their stories. The third episode features Dan Losada, Vice President, International Division at Hughes, who joins us to discuss Hughes' role in bringing internet access to some of the most isolated communities in Colombia through Juntas de Internet - Comunidades de Conectividad.

Dan Losada, vice president at Hughes, leads the company's international sales team, responsible for satellite broadband systems sales around the globe, and maintaining the company's competitive edge as the world's leading VSAT provider. Prior to assuming leadership of the international sales team, Dan was senior director of the Hughes Defense and Intelligence Systems Division (DISD), supporting the U.S. military during its transition to Internet Protocol (IP)-based broadband systems. Previously, Dan held positions in microwave and RF systems design at Hughes and TRW, Inc. (now part of Northrop Grumman).

Earlier in his career, Dan served as a technical consultant for Universidad Antonio Narino in Bogotá, Colombia, overseeing deployment of a point-to-multipoint network and evaluating proposals for the implementation of a city-wide WLAN Wireless Network. A certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Dan holds both a Bachelor and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has published papers on communication systems and design and speaks frequently at industry conferences and panels worldwide.

Hughes, with Microsoft and the Colombian government, brought internet access to some of the most isolated communities in Colombia through Juntas de Internet – Comunidades de Conectividad (Internet Connectivity Communities). According to the Wireless Broadband Alliance, more than four billion people globally remain without internet access, including 80% of households in poorer countries and 75% of students in rural areas. The Colombian government laid the groundwork for Juntas de Internet in July 2023 with the backing of the country's Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (MinTIC). The program was established to both enhance existing networks and build new ones. Internet implementation, connection, and maintenance is a joint effort between connectivity communities and regional internet service providers (ISPs). Connectivity communities are non-profit organizations whose income is exclusively used for the administration, operation, and maintenance of fixed community internet service. Hughes, serving as a regional ISP, partnered with Microsoft on Juntas de Internet. Read more about Hughes, Microsoft and Colombia's MICT – Juntas de Internet: Connectivity Communities.