Glitches hit SIM registration
The first day of SIM registration was not exactly smooth sailing for all three telco players, an expectation that turned into reality as official registration platforms suffered glitches and one was even forced to temporarily go offline.
Globe Telecom Inc. announced the temporary shutdown of its SIM registration portal on Tuesday, but promised to get it back online “within the day.”
as of press time, its registration website is still down. Several Globe subscribers, however, were able to access the site and register between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., “but the portal temporarily went offline as the site is being optimized.”
“We would like to thank our customers for going in to register early. Technical teams are working double time so the online platform can go live before the day ends. Rest assured that we are optimizing our systems to give you a better registration experience. We’d also like to remind our customers that there is enough time to register,” said yoly C. Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications of the Globe Group.
She said Globe has been preparing for the implementation of the SIM Registration law but had to recalibrate its system within just 15 days given the release of new guidelines under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), including the verification step through a “selfie.”
The IRR of Republic act (R a) 11934 was released on December 12.
“We ask our customers for their understanding as we experience these birth pains given this massive deployment of software. We’re setting the stage for our customers to have a good digital experience,” Crisanto said.
Meanwhile, Smart Communications Inc.’s registration portal had a few moments of glitches, displaying a 502 Bad Gateway Message, indicating that servers weren’t communicating with each other properly.
Postpaid subscribers had it easier. at least in Smart’s case, this reporter just needed to confirm his identity by sending “yes” to 5858.
For its part, a spokesman from Dito Telecommunity Corp. said the registration process for the third telco was “generally smooth,” noting that as of 3 p.m., about 208,039 subscribers have been registered.
a day before the start of the registrations, the telcos and even the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) admitted that they expect “birthing pains” for the maiden implementation of the SIM Registration law.
This includes early attempts by scammers and bad actors to use fake registration sites to hack devices, as well as the need to fine-tune some implementation processes.
In response to this, ICT Undersecretary anna Mae y. lamentillo said the agency has launched a 24/7 complaint center where the public can report issues related to SIM registration.
lamentillo said the 24/7 complaint center will serve as a “support system” for the implementation of the SIM registration as this will provide a platform where SIM subscribers can report their concerns or provide suggestions on how the process can be improved.
“[W]e launched a 24/7 complaint center so that concerns can be reported immediately and acted upon promptly.”
The Complaint Center for the SIM Registration will be under the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an attached agency of the DICT.
lamentillo said the first two weeks of the implementation of the SIM registration is considered a test period, wherein some glitches or technical issues are expected as the public telecommunications entities fine-tune their respective processes.
‘Enhances accountability’
REP. Ron P. Salo of the K abayan Partylist reminded telco users that they have 180 days to comply with the law.
“The people should not be worried if they are not immediately able to register their SIMS for the law provides a 180-day period to comply, which may be extended if necessary,” Salo said in a statement. “I am also reminding the NTC [National Telecommunications Commission] and network providers to continually improve their systems to meet the demands of this law. I urge them to make the registration process as seamless as possible to make it much easier for our citizens to comply with the law.”
The IRR of R a 11934 indicated that all users are required to register their SIMS with their respective networks. Failure to register will result in the deactivation of their SIMS.
“The SIM Registration law enhances accountability among users in the use of mobile communications through mandatory registration. It aims to deter unscrupulous individuals from committing illegal acts through the use of mobile networks by making users’ identities known,” Salo said.
“I commend the Filipino people for their enthusiasm to comply with this law. It just shows our citizens are lawabiding and they support our government’s initiative for an orderly society.”