Taiwan will deliberately slow mobile internet speeds for the first time during its annual civil defence drills in August to test how people communicate when network bandwidth is limited during emergencies.
The 30-minute exercise will affect 14 cities and counties in northern and central Taiwan, home to about 70% of the island’s population.
According to government planning documents, high-bandwidth services such as video calls, video streaming and image uploads on social media will be temporarily unavailable during the drill.
Essential services, including ATMs, traffic signals and emergency ambulance calls, will continue to operate as normal.
The exercise forms part of Taiwan’s broader efforts to strengthen emergency preparedness amid increasing military pressure from China.
Officials said the drills are designed to prepare the public and government agencies for potential communication disruptions caused by natural disasters, cyberattacks, blockades or a military conflict.
“We hope these drills will not only involve government agencies but also encourage the public to prepare alternative ways of communicating during emergencies,” a senior Taiwanese security official said.
Authorities are encouraging residents to consider backup communication methods such as landline telephones, fixed-line internet connections and walkie-talkies, while families are advised to agree in advance on alternative meeting points and contact plans.
The mobile internet slowdown will be carried out during the central Taiwan air raid drill on August 10 and the northern Taiwan drill on August 13, with each disruption lasting 30 minutes.
Taiwan has increasingly focused on strengthening communications resilience after repeated undersea cable disruptions in recent years exposed vulnerabilities that officials say could result from natural disasters, sabotage or China’s so-called “grey-zone” tactics.
The government will also launch a public awareness campaign, including television ticker messages, to inform residents about the temporary internet slowdown and how to prepare for it.
