Since consumers without IDs or internet connections find it difficult to comply, telecommunications providers have encouraged the government to think about extending the deadline for SIM card registration.
Telcos seek SIM registration deadline extension
PLDT’s Smart Communications and its value brand TNT sent a formal letter of request on Wednesday, April 11, asking the National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to extend the mandated deadline for subscribers to register their SIMs, which was set for April 26, 2023.
“We are filing this request to help give ample time to all mobile users, particularly the marginalized sectors and those located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas of the country, to register their SIMs,” said Cathy Yang, head of group corporate communications at PLDT and Smart.
Only 46% of the total subscribers, according to Smart, have registered.
“We see the need to give subscribers more time to secure the government IDs required to register their SIMs. We stand ready with government to support any undertaking to fast-track completing the SIM Registration process as required by law,” Yang said.
Globe previously stated that it had reached just 32% of its overall mobile customer base or 27.85 million individuals. The lack of valid IDs and an internet connection, according to Globe, is the cause of the low figure.
“Given these issues, we appeal to the government to extend the SIM registration process to give our customers more time to get their required government IDs and input the required information on our site,” Globe said.
As for DITO, only 4,882,913, or 32.63% of its subscribers registered their SIM. However, Dennis Uy’s Dito Telecommunity has yet to respond to questions about whether it also wants an extension.
According to the DICT, as of April 10, around 65,145,440 of the 168,016,400 customers in the country had registered their SIM cards. This represents 38.77% of all subscribers in the country.
The major telecom companies emphasized that SIM deactivation, which would result from failing to comply with the registration requirement, would be bad for customers. You will lose any remaining load balance if your SIM is deactivated, according to Yang.
She also mentioned that customers will not be able to get one-time passwords for their digital financial transactions, which are often given via mobile texts.
To recall, to stop the spread of text fraud, a law requiring SIM card registration was implemented last year. This law eliminates user anonymity, which is used by cybercriminals as a means of attack.
Registration links
- DITO subscribers – dito.ph/RegisterDITO
- Globe/TM subscribers – new.globe.com.ph/simreg
- Smart/TNT/Sun subscribers – https://simreg.smart.com.ph/
If you haven’t registered yet, we encourage you to register now. We suggest not to wait the exact day of the deadline to avoid inconvenience because many people are expected to register that day which may result in web server overload.
