Overview
- The Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones set a staggered calendar from August to December 2026 and designated numbers ending in 0 as the first group with a deadline of 15 August 2026.
- Operators must send periodic SMS reminders and may suspend unlinked prepaid lines 72 hours after each deadline, with emergency calls, operator contact and public alerts preserved during suspension.
- Official counts show roughly 63–68 million lines already linked while tens of millions remain unregistered, leaving a large backlog that regulators expect to address under the new schedule.
- Registration is free through each carrier and requires an official ID, CURP and a live-camera identity check; the CRT says no fingerprints or iris scans are requested and suspended lines can be reactivated once linked.
- Experts and industry sources warn the CRT has shifted operational burden to carriers, note uneven biometric and communication practices, and say the staggered calendar was also chosen to avoid network overload during mass processing.