Only 29% of SIMs registered so far

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will continue coordinating with local government units (LGUs) nationwide to boost the subscriber identity module or SIM card registration, which as of March 21 has only 49.20 million subscribers registered.

The figure represents 29.12 percent of the total 169 million subscribers nationwide.

DICT spokesperson Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo, undersecretary for public affairs and foreign relations, said they have tapped the department’s Tech4ED or Technology Empowerment for Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development centers to boost the SIM card registration drive.

The Tech4ED project is among major programs of the DICT that aims to establish e-centers in areas with limited internet access.

“To encourage the public to register their SIMs, the DICT continues to collaborate with LGUs in spreading awareness and information. For far-flung areas and isolated locations, the DICT is working with the National Telecommunications Commission to facilitate SIM registration,” Lamentilo said.

The DICT, headed by Secretary Ivan John Uy, continues to remind the public to register their SIMs through the official portals of their respective telecoms.

Lamentillo said the DICT expects an increase in SIM registration in the next four weeks, with the April 26 cutoff nearing.

She admitted that the government has yet to decide whether it would extend the procedure as it expressed belief that Filipinos will flock to the registration portals before the deadline.

The DICT plans to convene on the possible extension of SIM registration a week before the April 26 deadline, she said.

Announcing an adjustment in the deadline as early as now will discourage subscribers from registering their SIMs soonest.

“As soon as the interagency group has decided, we will let the public know. As of now, we don’t look at that option [extension] seriously,” Lamentillo said. “We still have one month and a lot can happen in one month and we want to maximize the period to see where it will lead us.”

The DICT is committed to sustain its efforts to provide assisted registration in areas where residents are having difficulty accessing the internet.

“I think we will have a sudden surge of SIM registrants toward the end, although we would like to remind everyone that they should register ahead of the deadline,” Lamentillo said.

“What we can assure you is that we are going to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas to assist in SIM registration. We expect most of the late registrants to come from urban centers,” she added.

Lamentillo advised telco providers to no longer improve the package of incentives that they give out upon registration of SIM.

She expressed belief that telco players have given enough, from freebies of internet data to raffling of concert tickets, to encourage users to register. – Elijah Felice Rosales