Taiwan to Test Mobile Internet Slowdown in August Civil Defence Drills

Taiwan will deliberately reduce mobile internet speeds for the first time during its annual civil defence drills in August. The 30‑minute slowdown will affect high‑bandwidth services such as video calls, streaming and social‑media images across 14 cities and counties in the northern and central parts of the island—areas covering about 70 % of the population. The drills are scheduled for the central region on 10 August and the north on 13 August. Essential services including ATMs, traffic signals and emergency ambulance calls will remain operational.

The exercise is part of Taiwan’s effort to improve communications resilience amid growing Chinese military pressure, preparing for possible blockades, cyber‑attacks or invasion. Officials cited recent undersea cable breaks and “grey‑zone” tactics as reasons for the drill, noting similar disruptions have been tested in Japan and Singapore. A senior security official, speaking anonymously, urged the public to consider backup options such as landlines. The National Communications Commission explained that southern regions were excluded to avoid disrupting stock‑trading activity during morning hours.