Colombia carried out the first pilot test of satellite-based emergency communication directly to devices, technically known as direct-to-device (D2D), a technology that allows SOS messages to be sent from a smartphone in places where there is no terrestrial coverage toward a satellite network.
The test took place in two locations simultaneously. In the town of Sumapaz, in a rural area south of Bogota, in a point without terrestrial mobile network coverage, a technical team sent an emergency message via satellite using an Android smartphone, through Skylo’s D2D non-terrestrial network and the Viasat satellite.
It will facilitate communication in the event of an emergency
The communication was received by an international emergency coordination center, which later contacted the C4 in Bogota, where ICT Minister Carina Murcia took the call: “Good morning, we are from the C4 in Bogota, receiving the test call that came directly from the device, in the Los Tungos lagoon, in the Sumapaz National Natural Park, in Bogota, directly to a satellite and now here,” was the minister’s response. “Please give me the coordinates. Latitude 4.28 – longitude negative 74.20. That is correct. Thank you.”
“This is a very important pilot test for the country, so that people in rural territories where there is no coverage can make an emergency call that, after going through a satellite, can be received at the C4, and from there the corresponding alerts can be issued,” Minister Murcia explained shortly after. “These are innovative ways that will allow people who do not have mobile coverage to communicate in an emergency.”
D2D technology allows certain mobile devices to communicate directly with orbiting satellites, without passing through a terrestrial cellular antenna. In emergency scenarios, this capability can be decisive for people in remote rural, mountainous, or hard-to-reach areas, where traditional infrastructure is not always available or may be affected by geographical, climatic, or critical event conditions.
The trial demonstrated the potential of non-terrestrial networks, known as NTN, to complement existing mobile networks and expand the reach of telecommunications services in underserved territories. In particular, it proved that satellite communications can become a key tool for strengthening emergency response, territorial resilience, and the safety of people in areas without conventional coverage.
The system has not yet been implemented
For the Ministry of ICT, this pilot, a test that is not yet in implementation and therefore cannot be used by citizens, is part of an agenda aimed at exploring new technologies that allow closing connectivity gaps, expanding telecommunications services, and enabling innovative solutions for rural, remote, and underserved communities, especially in emergency cases.
The exercise was led by the Ministry of ICT, the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), the ICT Advisory Office of Bogota, and the Bogota Command, Control, Communications and Computing Center (C4), in coordination with strategic partners such as Skylo Technologies and Viasat Inc.
“We have been working together with the Ministry of ICT and the CRC. This is a first step and what we are going to demonstrate is that the technology works and is ready,” said Sergio Sotomayor, director of the ANE, from the Los Tungos lagoon in the Sumapaz locality, where the test emergency call originated. “We need to move forward with the unification of having a single emergency reception point in the country so that all people who have an enabled cellphone can use it.”
In turn, Claudia Ximena Bustamante, commissioner of the CRC, stated that with these pilot tests of emergency communications through satellite services using Direct-to-Device technology and the support of Viasat and Skylo, “we are verifying that it is feasible that in areas where there is no cellular coverage, it is possible, through these satellite services, to send and receive emergency signals.”