Full Report
The speed of 5G and 4G networks across much of Taiwan will be temporarily reduced to 1 percent of capacity as the island holds annual civilian and military drills.
Analysis Summary
# Regulation/Compliance: Taiwan National Urban Resilience Exercise (Communications Component)
## Overview
This mandate requires a controlled, temporary reduction of mobile data throughput to test national communication resilience. The exercise simulates a degraded network environment—mirroring conditions of war or major natural disasters—to evaluate civilian adaptation, emergency service continuity, and the efficacy of alternative communication channels when primary 4G/5G infrastructure is compromised.
## Key Details
- **Issuing Authority:** National Communications Commission (NCC) and Ministry of National Defense (MND)
- **Effective Date:** Mid-August 2026
- **Jurisdiction:** 14 cities and counties in northern and central Taiwan
- **Status:** In Effect (Scheduled for execution during Han Kuang drills)
## Requirements
### Mandatory Requirements
1. **Throughput Throttling:** Network operators must reduce 4G and 5G mobile data speeds to approximately 1% of normal capacity.
2. **Selective Traffic Prioritization:** Emergency services (police, fire, medical), voice calls (CSFB/VoLTE), and SMS/Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) must remain operational and prioritized.
3. **Regional Containment:** Throttling must be isolated to the specified 14 northern and central administrative regions.
4. **Duration Adherence:** The network degradation must be limited to a 30-minute window.
### Recommended Practices
1. **Public Notification:** Telecommunication providers and the government should urge residents to download offline maps and resources prior to the drill.
2. **Alternative Connectivity:** Organizations should transition non-essential communications to fixed-line broadband or WiFi endpoints during the exercise.
3. **Backup Communication Protocols:** Families and organizations are encouraged to establish pre-defined "analog" or low-bandwidth backup plans.
## Affected Organizations
- **Industries:** Telecommunications (MNOs/ISPs), Emergency Services, Public Utilities, and Healthcare.
- **Organization Size:** All mobile network operators servicing the designated regions.
- **Geographic Scope:** Northern and central Taiwan (14 cities/counties).
## Compliance Timeline
- **July 2026:** Public announcement and preliminary operational briefing by the NCC.
- **Early August 2026:** Technical preparation/configuration by mobile network operators.
- **Mid-August 2026 (Day of Exercise):** 30-minute mandatory throttling window.
- **Post-August 2026:** Evaluation phase to determine island-wide expansion of the exercise.
## Implementation Guidance
### Assessment Phase
- **Network Mapping:** Identify cell sites and base stations within the 14 targeted counties.
- **Capacity Modeling:** Determine the configuration required to limit data packets to the 1% threshold while maintaining voice/SMS integrity.
### Implementation Phase
- **Traffic Shaping:** Apply Quality of Service (QoS) or rate-limiting policies at the core network level to throttle non-essential data (video/social media).
- **White-listing:** Ensure emergency service dedicated frequencies and SMS gateways are excluded from rate-limiting.
### Validation Phase
- **Real-time Monitoring:** Use Network Operation Centers (NOCs) to verify that the 1% target is reached without triggering a total network blackout.
- **Post-Mortem:** Analyze packet loss and user connectivity during the 30-minute window to identify success/failure metrics.
## Technical Requirements
- **Throughput Management:** Implementation of extreme bandwidth throttling (99% reduction).
- **Protocol Filtering:** Prioritization of low-bandwidth protocols (Signaling) over high-bandwidth protocols (HTTP/UDP video streams).
- **EAS Integration:** Ensure the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system can override the throttled state.
## Penalties & Enforcement
- **Fines:** Dependent on NCC regulatory statutes regarding service level agreements (SLA) and national security directives.
- **Other Consequences:** Reputational damage; mandatory remediation audits for any carrier that fails to maintain emergency voice services during the drill.
- **Enforcement:** The NCC will monitor network traffic metrics in real-time to ensure compliance with the 1% threshold.
## Related Standards
- **ITU-T X.805:** Security architecture for systems providing end-to-end communications.
- **ISO/IEC 22301:** Security and resilience — Business continuity management systems.
- **NIST SP 800-34:** Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems.
## Resources
- **Official Documentation:** [hXXps://news.pts.org.tw/article/818542] (Taiwan Public Television)
- **Guidance Documents:** [hXXps://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2026/07/20/2003861071] (Ministry of Defense Briefings)
## Practical Recommendations
- **Offline Redundancy:** Download critical navigation data and business-critical documents for offline use.
- **WiFi Offloading:** Secure access to fixed-line WiFi hotspots, which are exempt from the throttling mandate.
- **Communication Drills:** Use the 30-minute window to test organizational "out-of-band" communication protocols (e.g., satellite phones or landlines).