NTC-6 urges public to register SIM cards to reach 70% target

By John Noel Herrera

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)-6 has once again reminded mobile phone users in the region to register their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to reach the Department of Information and Communication Technology’s (DICT) 70 percent target before the 90-day extension ends on July 25, 2023.

NTC-6 legal officer Atty. Deo Virgil Tan said that current number of registered SIMs in the country is at around 58 percent, or 98,380,000 out of 168,016,400 total active SIM cards, which is still far from the 70 percent target set by the DICT.

Tan stressed that the public now needs to register their SIM cards as there would be no other extension for the registration.

He reiterated that individuals who will fail to register their SIM cards will face automatic contact deactivation as stated in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act (RA) No. 11934 or the SIM Registration Act.

“So, gusto ko lang pabalo ang tanan nga nagapamati subong nga kung waay pa kamo naka-paregister sang inyo SIM cards, please do so, because we will really deactivate all unregistered SIM cards after the deadline,” Tan said.

Originally, the SIM registration deadline was set last April 26, 2023, but Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that it has been extended by 90 days, or until July 25, giving active SIM users three more months to have their numbers registered.

DICT earlier noted that the extension was due to the low turnout for registration even days before the original deadline, as only less than 50 percent of total active SIM cards had been registered during that time.

Some telecommunication companies, including Globe and Smart, previously said that the lack of IDs (identification cards), as well as digital literacy, are among the roadblocks that slowed down the registration.

NTC-6, on the other hand, said that they are continuously conducting facilitated SIM card registration in 40 identified areas in the region where users are struggling to access the online portals due to low internet connectivity.

Meanwhile, Globe Telecom has warned its subscribers against new phishing attempts related to SIM registration.

In a statement, Globe said that hackers were sending out phishing emails and pretending to be company officials offering SIM registration assistance to subscribers.

Globe asked its customers to refrain from clicking on e-mails mimicking its advisory on SIM registration, noting that scammers continue to make last-minute efforts to deceive as many Filipinos as they can, especially when the registration deadline is approaching.

“We’ve become aware of such deceptive communications and we strongly advise our customers to ignore and block these messages, which are malicious misuse of the new SIM Registration Act.” Globe chief information security officer Anton Bonifacio said.

Under Republic Act 11934, or the SIM Registration Act, subscribers are required to sign up for their SIM with their telco providers within the extended deadline of July 25, 2023.

It is also the first law signed under Marcos Jr.’s administration, which aims to help law enforcement authorities “track perpetrators of crimes committed through phones” and become an effective means of regulating the issuance of SIM cards to curb the spread of spam and scam text messages in the country.