DICT considers extended SIM registration deadline

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is looking at extending the deadline for registering SIM (subscriber identity module) cards as the latest tally has reached only about a quarter of the total subscribers nationwide.

In its latest count, the agency said the total registered subscribers reached 41.47 million, which is only 24.54% of the country’s 168.98 million subscribers.

“DICT is looking at the possibility of an extension,” DICT Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Foreign Relations Anna Mae Y. Lamentillo said in a Viber message.

When asked how long the department is planning to extend the deadline, Ms. Lamentillo said that it is still under deliberation.

“The DICT has the prerogative to extend the SIM Registration process for another 120 days. We are still deliberating on the matter. Now we’re focused on increasing the number of registrants before the April 26 deadline,” she added.

The total number is consolidated from the data reported by local public telecommunication entities or PTEs: Smart Communications, Inc., Globe Telecom, Inc., and DITO Telecommunity Corp.

The breakdown provided by the DICT showed that Smart registered a total of 21.12 million SIM cards which is 31.05% of its around 68 million subscribers; Globe recorded 17.21 million or 19.58% of its 87,873,936 subscribers; and DITO reported 3.15 million or 24.02% of its 13.11 million subscribers.

Globe said that it will be setting up SIM card registration booths across 54 locations nationwide from March 7 to 10.

“[This is] in support of the seventh round of the SIM registration assistance initiative of the National Telecommunications Commission,” the company said.

For this week, Globe will be setting up booths in 11 provinces in Luzon, four provinces in the Visayas, and nine provinces in Mindanao.

“With our SIM registration booths deployed across the country, we hope to make the registration process as easy and convenient as possible for everyone. We encourage our customers to visit these locations and comply with the government mandate before the deadline,” said Globe Channel Management Group Head Cleo Celeste Santos.

Meanwhile, the DICT is advising the public to register their SIM cards with their respective PTEs and be vigilant as they complete the registration process.

It added that the public must only register through the official links of PTEs, which are smart.com.ph/simreg or simreg.smart.com.ph for Smart users; new.globe.com.ph/simreg for Globe users; and digital.dito.ph/pto/download/app for DITO users. — Justine Irish D. Tabile