Viasat (VSAT) said Thursday it had tested direct-to-device connectivity for the automotive industry by linking different vehicles directly to its L-band satellites and Skylo's network.

The company said its partner GuardianSat conducted the trials over the last four months between Blumenau and Curitiba in Brazil using 3GPP standards-based non-terrestrial-network service infrastructure through Acceleronix and satellite communication modules of Quectel.

Viasat said the demonstration showed that vehicles can stay connected even in rural locations.

Shares of Viasat were down more than 3% in recent Thursday premarket activity.