Mexico Reaches First Staged Deadline for Prepaid Mobile Registration

Mexico has reached the first deadline in its staged registration schedule for prepaid mobile lines, beginning the enforcement phase of a national program that links phone numbers with verified identity records.

The August 15 deadline applied to lines whose final digit is zero. Under the schedule published by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, additional groups will follow according to the last digit of each number, spreading the workload across operators and customers.

Mobile lines that remain unlinked after their applicable deadline are to be suspended within 72 hours. A suspended number may still contact emergency services and reach its operator’s support channels so the holder can complete registration and restore service.

The process associates a mobile number with the holder’s Clave Única de Registro de Población, or CURP. Customers complete the procedure through their carrier, and telecommunications companies are responsible for collecting and retaining the registration records.

The regulator said 67,116,409 mobile lines had been linked as of July 20, representing 46 percent of the national total. The figure covers registrations across physical SIMs and eSIMs and indicates the remaining scale of the program as later deadlines approach.

Mexico adopted the requirement to reduce anonymous phone use and make each active line attributable to a person or organization. The rules apply to prepaid and postpaid customers, though the staged deadline campaign is particularly important for prepaid numbers that may have been activated without a current subscriber record.

The rules connect SIM registration with CURP. The first deadline moves that framework from enrollment into active suspension for numbers that have not been linked.

Other governments are also tying telecommunications access to national identity systems. India requires Aadhaar biometric verification for new SIM cards, while Nigeria has conducted repeated enforcement campaigns involving its National Identification Number.

The Mexican commission provides a central portal where subscribers can identify their deadline and reach carrier registration channels. Customers whose lines are suspended can complete the required link afterward, but service remains limited until their operator validates the record.

Sources: Mexico Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Line Registration Portal

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team