Overview
- OSIPTEL published Resolution No. 000133-2026 on Oct. 19, 2026, to maintain mobile connectivity in districts covered by the government's El Niño state-of-emergency declarations.
- The rule temporarily suspends the expiry of prepaid balances and promotions and bars operators from deactivating prepaid lines for lack of recharge or inactivity while the measures apply.
- When a postpaid line faces suspension for nonpayment, operators must, where technically possible, migrate it to prepaid without penalties though any prior debt remains and may be split on request.
- Operators may provide temporary prepaid lines, set up itinerant SIM-replacement modules, enable tethering and must report numbers migrated and other implementation details to OSIPTEL; if they cannot apply protections for technical reasons they must offer free SMS as an alternative.
- The protections apply only in officially declared emergency zones, can be delimited by OSIPTEL for up to three months, and aim to keep millions reachable as ENFEN and SENAMHI warn of heavy rains from November that could disrupt early warning systems and relief operations.