Gov’t vows to meet April 26 mobile SIM registration deadline
The government is keen on meeting the Apr. 26 deadline for the SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration as it targets to enlist at least a million subscribers daily, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
DICT Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo, in a press briefing in Quezon City on Tuesday, announced this goal as they shared plans to ramp up technical assistance for geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, which represent about 27 percent of the barangays across the country.
She said the DICT was working with the public telecommunication entities and other government agencies to “facilitate the SIM registration and fast track the process in areas with limited telecommunication or internet access the soonest possible time.”
“Currently, we are on track, but there could be a lull, and then a surge again once we are near the deadline,” she added.
As of Jan. 9, the DICT said that 16.15 million SIM cards had already been registered. Bulk of these were accounted for by Smart Communications Inc. with 7.58 million, followed by Globe Telecom Inc. with 7.14 million and DITO Telecommunity with 1.43 million.
Less complaints
Norman Ancheta, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) division chief, said complaints over technical issues related to SIM card registration have declined as telcos enhanced their registration portals. A 24/7 hotline was launched last month to address subscriber concerns.
The official of CICC, an attached agency of DICT, noted that the number of queries declined to just 14 as of Jan. 10 (10 am) from nearly 400 on Dec. 27 or during the first day of SIM registration. To date, CICC has received a total of 1,353 SIM registration-related complaints.
Ancheta noted that most of the subscribers reaching out to them were asking how to register their SIM cards. Usual complaints, meanwhile, are related to registration portals being down or inaccessible.
Beware of scammers
“The process has actually improved if we look at the statistics,” Lamentillo said.
The telecommunication companies, meanwhile, warned against entities supposedly providing subscribers assistance in complying with the SIM card registration via social media, noting that such schemes were likely offered to steal sensitive information.
Globe, in an advisory on Tuesday, said it was informed of individuals offering such services for free or for a fee, and they also ask for the subscribers’ personal data such as name, photo, valid ID, birthday, cell phone number and home address.
PLDT and Smart head of corporate communications Cathy Yang, in a recent press event, also shared that hackers were now offering help in SIM registration for a fee to subscribers who are not knowledgeable enough about the process.
Both telco players stressed that SIM registration was free.
“We want to remind our customers to be wary of these types of offers and to only use official channels for their SIM registration,” Globe chief privacy officer Irish Salandanan-Almeida reminded the public.
Subscribers are advised against sharing their personal information with others as they can fall victims of identity theft.