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Mexico's Mobile-Line ID Drive Faces Extension Push as Carriers Curb Unregistered Prepaid Service

The regulator says the June 30 cutoff still applies despite only about 3.3 million numbers linked so far.

Overview

  • As of January 21, 3,388,796 lines had been linked out of roughly 158 million, and the CRT plans a February 7 tool for users to verify which numbers are tied to their identity.
  • Meeting the deadline would require about 924,000 registrations per day, and unlinked lines are slated to be limited to emergency use from July 1 unless registered later.
  • Customer-service staff and user reports indicate operators have started limiting services for some unregistered prepaid lines, though AT&T says pre‑January 9 lines can operate normally until the cutoff.
  • PRI lawmakers introduced bills to push the deadline to January 30, 2028, citing platform strain, privacy concerns and risks of excluding vulnerable users, with proposals sent to Senate committees.
  • Officials say the registry targets phone-based extortion by ending anonymous SIM use and that data will be held by operators rather than the government; a Telcel registration-platform flaw flagged January 10 prompted added security measures.