In conjunction with the “2026 Urban Resilience (Air Defense) Exercise”, the NCC conducted a 30-minute “Mobile Network Blockage” exercise for the first time in 14 counties and cities in northern and central areas. At that time, mobile Internet access will be limited and slowed down, and only “voice calls and text messages” services will be retained. Since this is the first time that mobile network speed reduction will be implemented in the northern and central areas, not only some mobile users complained, but also some legislators came forward to question why there was no simultaneous drill in the southern part.
2026 Urban Resilience Exercise “Mobile Network Blockage” Exercise. Are there any Q&A to clear up any doubts? Here is a summary:
In order to simulate communication obstruction, NCC cooperated with the “2026 Urban Resilience (Air Defense) Exercise” and conducted a 30-minute “mobile network obstruction” drill in 14 counties and cities in central and northern China for the first time. The NCC is expected to officially announce the 2026 Urban Resilience (Air Defense) Exercise Mobile Network Blockage Exercise Plan on July 22. The following is a summary video and detailed description of common concerns about mobile network slowdown measures for the currently known “mobile network blockage”:
1. “Mobile network blocked” drill schedule:
The “Mobile Network Blocked” drill time of the “2026 Urban Resilience (Air Defense) Exercise” is as follows:
The exercise time for the seven central counties and cities is from 14:30 to 15:00 pm on August 10 (Monday), covering Miaoli County, Taichung City, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County and Chiayi City; the exercise time for the seven northern counties and cities is from 14:30 to 15:00 pm on August 13 (Thursday), covering Taipei City, New Taipei City, Keelung City, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu County and Yilan County.
2. Will mobile phones be completely disconnected during the exercise?
The “Mobile Network Blocked” drill involves slowing down, not disconnecting, and will not completely lose communication. The official plan simulates a situation where the mobile network is blocked, or the bandwidth is insufficient after disaster roaming and hierarchical throttling are activated. Mobile Internet speeds may be significantly slowed down or cannot be used normally, but voice calls and text messages are expected to maintain services.
According to the announcement issued by the NCC and telecom operators, during the exercise, mobile Internet access will be restricted, and you will not be able to watch videos or load apps smoothly. However,Voice, text messages, disaster prevention warning broadcasts, and 110 and 119 calls are all normal, and connection to fixed-line WiFi is not affected. The NCC reminds the public that important work is being handled during the exercise. If you have important Internet access needs, it is recommended to handle it in advance or postpone it, and complete important data downloads, online transactions or mobile payments in advance to avoid affecting your own rights and interests. In addition, the public should also use this exercise to learn to activate the backup network mechanism and try to use fixed line or WiFi to access the Internet.
3. Will the Wi-Fi and local calls at home and at work be affected?
The scope of the exercise announced this time is mobile network, fixed line and local telephone are not included in the exercise project. In principle, home or office Wi-Fi connected to fixed-line broadband will not be affected; if Wi-Fi is shared through mobile hotspots or 4G/5G routers, it may still be affected.
4. Can LINE calls and videos still be used?
LINE voice and video calls require an Internet connection. If you use a mobile network, you may not be able to use it normally during the exercise; if you switch to Wi-Fi with fixed broadband as the backend, it will not be affected by this exercise in principle.
5. Will mobile payment and Easy Card be affected?
Physical EasyCards can usually be deducted offline and do not rely on the cardholder’s mobile phone network. Physical credit card contactless transactions do not require the cardholder’s mobile phone to be connected to the Internet, but the merchant’s card terminal may still require online authorization, so there is no guarantee that it will not be affected at all. Payment services that require instant Internet connection to generate payment codes or complete code scanning may not be completed properly if you use a mobile network; it is recommended to prepare physical cards or cash.
6.Why is the “Mobile Network Blocked” drill only in the central and northern parts of the country and not in the south?
The National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Ministry of National Defense explained that this “Mobile Network Blockage” exercise was a preliminary regional verification and did not deliberately exclude specific areas. NCC Chief Secretary Wen Junyu explained to the media that because the southern exercise time is at 10 a.m., there is concern that it will affect retail investors who trade on mobile phones and cause public resentment, so there will be no network slowdown exercise this time. The Ministry of National Defense stated that in the future, based on the results and effectiveness of this verification, it will gradually expand to other areas in Taiwan, including Nangaoping.
7. If the mobile network in central and northern China is blocked for 30 minutes, can I seek compensation from the telecom operator?
no. According to the mobile broadband service contract signed by mobile users, the monthly subscription fee must be reduced for more than 2 hours. Moreover, this drill is only limited to 30 minutes and is not caused by the telecom operators. Users cannot seek compensation from the telecom operators.
8. How to avoid Internet troubles caused by “mobile network obstruction”:
A. Make good use of fixed network and free WiFI services:
During this “Mobile Network Blockage” drill, both fixed-line and WiFi services will not be affected. If you need to access the Internet during the drill, you can make more use of the free WiFi services provided around Taiwan (such as iTaiwan, free WiFi in supermarkets…). For details, see [This article】。
B. Switch to physical dialing:
This “mobile network is blocked” drill is not completely disconnected, and you can still make calls and send text messages normally. Since using Line only requires 1Mbps, it is still unclear what the network speed will be after the drop during the exercise. If you cannot use Line then, please use physical dial-up instead, but be sure to pay attention to the usage time to avoid losing money in your wallet.
C. Have physical cards or cash ready:
During periods when the mobile network is blocked, merchant card swiping terminals may require online authorization and may not be able to service. It is recommended to have physical cards or cash as backup.
However, the drill time is to coincide with the urban resilience (air defense) drill. Traffic will be controlled at that time, so you cannot move around at will during the drill, and ordering takeout is useless. It is recommended that everyone face the drill with a positive attitude and wait for the 30-minute drill to complete without disturbing others.
Source: KOCPC Chinese