Taiwan Conducts First Mobile Internet Throttling Exercise During Urban Resilience Drills
3 sources across 3 countries · Hong Kong · Japan · Taiwan
Who reported this
- South China Morning Post
- The Japan Times
- Focus Taiwan
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Taiwan has implemented its first ever mobile network throttling exercise as part of annual urban resilience and air defense drills. The National Communications Commission reduced 4G and 5G bandwidth for 30 minutes on Monday in central Taiwan, with further tests planned for northern Taiwan on Thursday. The exercise simulated communication disruptions that could occur during a Chinese attack, a cyberattack, or a natural disaster.
According to the National Communications Commission, approximately 17 million people, or 73 percent of the population, are expected to be affected. While mobile data services such as video streaming, online banking, and mobile payments were disrupted, authorities maintained functionality for voice calls, SMS messages, and emergency cell broadcasts. In central Taiwan, the drill coincided with air raid sirens and the evacuation of residents to shelters.
Public reaction to the slowdown was mixed. Some residents reported that the throttling effectively left them without internet access, making it impossible to load browsers or send messages. One shopper noted the brief duration caused little inconvenience, while a mobile gamer described the disruption as disastrous. A Vietnamese graduate student praised the exercise for its emphasis on civilian preparedness.
Center lean sources framed the event as a measure of urban resilience and public preparedness. A center right lean source highlighted the skepticism of critics who questioned the value of the tests.
How each side framed it
- Centre
- These sources framed the event as a strategic exercise in urban resilience and public preparedness for emergencies.
- Centre-right
- This source emphasized the existence of critics who questioned the actual value of the network throttling tests.
Sources
- Centre Focus Taiwan: Central Taiwan holds urban resilience drill in first mobile data slowdown
- Centre-right South China Morning Post: Why Taiwan is conducting its first-ever mobile network throttling exercise
- Centre The Japan Times: Taiwan ‘throttles’ mobile internet for first time during annual war games
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.