Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. are calling on the government to extend the April 26 SIM registration deadline due to low registration turnout.
Globe said it has seen a low registration count primarily due to the lack of valid government IDs and challenged digital literacy.
“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.
Globe also suggested allowing alternative forms of identification, such as company IDs, school IDs, and barangay certificates to boost SIM registration efforts.
Meanwhile, Smart said it would file a request with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission for the deadline extension.
“We are filing this request to help give ample time to all mobile users, particularly the marginalized sectors and those located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas of the country, to register their SIMs,” said Cathy Yang, first vice president and head of Group Corporate Communications at PLDT and Smart.
According to Yang, granting their plea would also allow Filipinos to secure their government IDs required to register their SIMs.
Data from DICT as of April 11 show that 66,220,334 mobile subscribers—or about 39%— have registered out of 168,977,773 SIMs.
Under the SIM Card Registration Act, which was signed into law in October 2022, subscribers have 180 days from the effectivity of the law to register their numbers, or until April 26, 2023.
The law also provides that the DICT can extend the deadline for another 120 days as it deemed necessary.
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