The National Communications Commission (NCC) is planning to conduct a network disruption drill for the first time across 14 counties and cities during the 2026 Urban Resilience Exercise scheduled for August. Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said on Monday, July 20, that in addition to testing the government and the public’s responses, the exercise will also review the armed forces’ backup command, control, and communications capabilities.

The NCC is planning for 14 counties and cities in central and northern Taiwan to take part in two rounds of the mobile network disruption drill on August 10 and August 13. The drill will simulate a scenario in which mobile network bandwidth becomes constricted due to a natural disaster or traffic throttling, causing mobile network speeds to drop to the point where only voice calls and text messages remain available.

Koo said that the drill will only target mobile networks, and fixed-line networks will not be affected. He added that this will be the first drill of its kind, and that improvements will be made based on the results.