Overview
- The telecom regulator CRT, which on Wednesday said 48 million of 144 million mobile lines are now linked to a CURP (Mexico’s national ID code), kept the June 30 deadline with suspensions starting July 1 for unregistered numbers.
- Operators’ figures clash with the regulator’s update, as AT&T disclosed 7 million of its 24.1 million lines were registered by May 4 and only 17.3% of its prepaid users had linked their numbers.
- Prepaid users account for more than four-fifths of Mexico’s market and are harder to verify, and both Telcel and AT&T reported first‑quarter subscriber losses as the registry rollout began.
- Industry groups and executives urged a rethink, saying the program will cost carriers more than 4 billion pesos and lacks biometric checks, which they argue leaves identity verification weak.
- A suspended line cannot place or receive calls or texts or use mobile data, which can lock people out of WhatsApp, SMS verification codes, and mobile banking until they complete the linking process.