In response to the low number of people who have already registered their SIM cards, digital solutions provider Globe Telecom has recently requested the national government to lengthen the SIM registration process as mandated under the law.
Republic Act (RA) 11934 or the “Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act” is the first law signed by the current administration that aims to regulate the use of SIM cards by mandating all end-users in the Philippines to register their mobile phone numbers. Mobile phone numbers that will remain unregistered after six months will be deactivated.
In its Declaration of Policy, RA 11934 stated that “The State recognizes the vital role of information and communications in nation-building and encourages its growth and development. It is equally cognizant that beneficial as modern technology is, its illegal or malicious use endangers people’s lives… The State shall therefore promote responsibility in the use of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) and provide law enforcement agencies the tools to resolve crimes that involve its utilization and a platform to deter the commission of wrong-doings (like text scams and cybercrime, among others).”
The 180-day registration period commenced on December 27, 2022, and is set to end on April 26, 2023. Based on the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR), it may be extended by another 120 days if needed.
According to Globe, it only has 27.85 million users registered in its network, or around 32 percent of all its mobile customers as of April 11, 2023. The company added that with less than two weeks left before the deadline, it will not be able to reach at least half of all the registrations necessary.
The company adds that according to their research, other telcos are in a similar situation as they are now.
Creating urgency for SIM card registration
Globe has continued its awareness and education initiatives after the IRR of RA 11934 had been put in place, stating that they have been using consistent digital posts, in-app notifications, traditional media, face-to-face interactions, and even instructional films to create urgency for SIM card registration.
Despite all these efforts, Globe claimed that the low registration rate was mostly caused by a lack of legitimate government identification documents and poor levels of digital literacy.
In line with this, the company is urging the government to extend the SIM registration period.
“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 in a press statement.
Globe reported that it had set up 180 help desks in the 72 provinces with the highest percentage of people using basic phones, or phones with only call and text capabilities.
The move comes right after the telco company installed SIM registration assistance booths at more than 100 locations nationwide in collaboration with various local government agencies, partner supermarkets, and partner shopping centers.