14 cities, counties to simulate mobile internet outage during air raid drills

Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Fourteen cities and counties across northern and central Taiwan will simulate mobile internet disruptions as part of next month's nationwide air raid drills, with mobile users limited to voice calls and text messages for 30 minutes, according to a notice published by New Taipei police.

Under the scenario planned by the National Communications Commission (NCC) as part of the Urban Resilience Exercises, mobile data services will be disrupted or significantly slowed due to simulated network congestion and emergency traffic management measures, leaving only voice and SMS services available.

The exercise will be held in seven central Taiwan jurisdictions -- Miaoli County, Taichung, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County and Chiayi City -- from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 10.

The same simulation will be carried out in seven northern jurisdictions -- Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City and Yilan County -- from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 13.

Police advised the public to prepare in advance by locating nearby air raid shelters through the National Police Agency's air raid shelter website or relevant mobile apps and saving screenshots of the information for offline access during the simulated outage.

Residents are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with official air raid shelter guidelines, including basic sheltering principles and protective measures.

During the drills or in an actual emergency, people should seek shelter in basements or designated air raid shelters, follow pre-saved maps or on-site shelter signs, and comply with instructions from police and civil defense personnel, the notice said.

The NCC is expected to formally announce details of the mobile network disruption exercise on July 22, according to sources familiar with the matter.