THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said that more than 14 million subscriber identity module (SIM) cards had been registered as of Jan. 4 under Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Card Registration Act.
Figures displayed on the NTC’s website showed that a total of 14.05 million SIM cards are registered as of Jan. 4. The SIM card registration started on Dec. 27 last year.
Of the total, Smart Communications, Inc. accounted for 6,713,632, followed by Globe Telecom Inc. at 6,135,596, and DITO Telecommunity Corp. at 1,200,897.
Under the law, all mobile device users are required to register their SIM cards on the telcos’ authorized platforms until April 26.
The registration period could be given a 120-day extension by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) after the April 26 deadline. Unregistered SIM cards would be deactivated.
In a separate statement, Smart said that it established SIM registration booths across the country in collaboration with local government units, partner stores, and regional and provincial distributors to assist subscribers in the registration process.
“Register your SIMs now, and help prevent scammers and predators online. We look forward to further collaboration with local government units and partners on-ground across the Philippines, helping hasten our SIM Registration process,” PLDT and Smart First Vice-President Cathy Y. Yang said.
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