T-Mobile, which is partnering with SpaceX to let people text and call via satellite, says it has successfully sent a test emergency alert via a Starlink satellite. Satellite alerts can help ensure people receive critical communications when they’re outside of wireless range, and T-Mobile says this is the first time a wireless emergency alert has been sent via satellite in the U.S.

“On Thursday, September 5 at 5:13 p.m. PT, T-Mobile sent out a test alert for a hypothetical evacuation message,” T-Mobile said. “The message was sent 217 miles into space, where it was received by one of more than 175 Starlink direct-to-smartphone satellites currently in low Earth orbit, effectively functioning as cell towers in space. The message was then broadcast to a geographic area impacted by the hypothetical evacuation message and received by a T-Mobile smartphone.” T-Mobile says it took “just a few seconds” to queue the message and send it via satellite.

In 2022, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership that would allow people to text, call and use data on their T-Mobile phones using Starlink’s satellites. According to Starlink’s Direct to Cell website, the ability to text via satellite will roll out this year, and T-Mobile said in January that the service would expand to voice and data “in the coming years.” In Wednesday’s blog post, T-Mobile said it “plans to beta test the service prior to commercial launch.”

AT&T and Verizon are also expanding satellite-to-smartphone services, and Apple and Google offer satellite services for iPhone and Pixel smartphones.