Colombia Tests New Technology to Respond to Emergencies in Remote Areas

This press release can be found at: https://www.mintic.gov.co/portal/inicio/Sala-de-prensa/Noticias/438357:Colombia-prueba-nueva-tecnologia-para-atender-emergencias-en-territorios-apartados‍

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The ICT Minister, Carina Murcia, led an inter-institutional pilot project where an SOS message can be sent from a phone to a satellite in a rural or remote area without terrestrial coverage, so that it then reaches the emergency dispatch centers in the cities.

The exercise was carried out in Sumapaz, a rural area of ​​Bogotá, with the participation of the Ministry of ICT, the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), the Commission for Communications Regulation (CRC), the Command, Control, Communications and Computing Center of Bogotá (C4), the ICT Advisory Office of Bogotá, Skylo Technologies and Viasat.

D2D technology —direct to device— allows compatible cell phones to connect directly to satellites in areas where terrestrial mobile networks are not available, to send emergency or help messages.

"Good morning, we're at the C4 command center in Bogotá, receiving the test call that originated directly from the device at Los Tungos Lagoon in Sumapaz National Natural Park, near Bogotá, directly to a satellite, and now here. Please give me the coordinates. Latitude 4.28 - longitude -74.20. Is that correct? Thank you ." With that message, the Minister of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Carina Murcia, successfully completed the first pilot test of direct-to-device (D2D) emergency satellite communication, conducted in Bogotá this morning. This technology allows SOS messages to be sent from a smartphone to a satellite network in areas without terrestrial coverage.

The exercise was led by the Ministry of ICT, the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), the Commission for Communications Regulation (CRC), the ICT Advisory Office of Bogotá and the Command, Control, Communications and Computing Center (C4) of Bogotá, in conjunction with strategic partners such as Skylo Technologies and Viasat Inc.

The test was conducted simultaneously in two locations. In the Sumapaz area, a rural zone of Bogotá, at 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. The communication was received by an international emergency coordination center, which subsequently contacted the C4 command center in Bogotá, where Minister Murcia received the call.

"This is a very important pilot program for the country, so that people in rural areas without coverage can make an emergency call that, after being routed to a satellite, can be received at the C4 command center, and from there, the corresponding alerts can be issued. It's a technology we are testing and analyzing, the result of a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), the National Spectrum Agency (ANE), the Commission for Communications Regulation (CRC), the Bogotá ICT Advisory Office, and the C4. These are innovative methods that will allow people without mobile coverage to communicate in an emergency," explained the Minister of ICT, Carina Murcia.

D2D technology allows certain mobile devices to communicate directly with orbiting satellites, bypassing a terrestrial cell tower. In emergency situations, this capability can be crucial for people in rural, remote, mountainous, or hard-to-reach areas, where traditional infrastructure is not always available or may be affected by geographical or climatic conditions, or other critical events.

"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. What we need is to move forward with unifying the emergency call center in the country so that everyone with a mobile phone can use it," said Sergio Sotomayor, director of the ANE, from the Los Tungos lagoon in the Sumapaz district, where the emergency call originated.

The trial demonstrated the potential of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) to complement existing mobile networks and extend the reach of telecommunications services in underserved areas. 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.

"With these pilot projects of emergency communications through satellite services with Direct to Device technology and the support of Viasat and Skylo, we are verifying that it is feasible to send and receive emergency signals through these satellite services in areas where there is no cell coverage," said Claudia Ximena Bustamante, Commissioner of the CRC.

“Skylo is proud to work alongside the Colombian government and our partners to bring 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 left out. This is what is made possible when satellite and mobile networks operate as one,” said Mindel de la Torre, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs at Skylo.

For the Ministry of ICT, this pilot project, an initiative that is not yet being commercially implemented and therefore cannot be used by the public, 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 situations.