Mexico and Chile implement mandatory mobile line registration

Mandatory mobile line registration processes in Mexico and Chile are causing significant shifts in the telecommunications market. In Mexico, the Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones (CRT) has implemented a requirement for prepaid users to link their phone numbers to their CURP or RFC to combat crimes such as extortion and fraud.

Data from The Competitive Intelligence Unit (The CIU) indicates that Mexico saw a reduction of 4.9 million active mobile lines between December 2025 and June 2026. This decline is largely attributed to the regulatory depuration of inactive or low-consumption prepaid lines. While the prepaid segment lost approximately 6.3 million connections, the postpaid segment has seen growth, and overall market revenues increased by 5.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026 due to higher data consumption.

In Chile, new regulations effective August 20, 2025, also mandate that prepaid customers register their identities to reduce anonymity. The Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones is overseeing this transition, which requires users to provide full names and identification details. Companies are implementing biometric tools to facilitate this process and ensure compliance with data protection laws.