The total number of registered subscriber identity module (SIM) users has reached 106 million, which is within the government’s target, according to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
As of July 24, the registered SIMs are equivalent to 63 percent of the total 168 million mobile subscribers as of December last year.
Of the total, Smart Communications Inc. had 50 million registered SIM users, Globe had 48.4 million and Dito Telecommunity Corp., 7.5 million.
“Such number is well within the target of between 100 million to 110 million registered SIMs come deadline, especially considering the report from the public telecommunication entities that almost all of their SIMs with active users have already registered,” the NTC said in a statement.
The NTC reiterated to the public there will no longer be a further extension from the July 25 deadline to register active SIMs.
It may be recalled the government extended the original deadline of April 26 by another 90 days, as allowed under the SIM Registration Act, to give full opportunity to millions of users with still unregistered SIMs to go through the registration process.
Failure to register SIMs by 11:59 p.m. of July 25 will result in the deactivation of telecommunications and mobile data services, including social media access, except for the purpose of having these unregistered SIMs reactivated, but only up to July 30.
Access to online banking and other online financial transactions will also be deactivated.
By July 31, all unregistered SIMs will be permanently deactivated and can no longer be registered.
Meanwhile, Globe, TM and Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi users who missed the July 25 deadline for SIM registration will already feel the impact of non-compliance, with their outgoing services and incoming calls deactivated, Globe said.
But as stipulated in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the SIM Registration Act, they still have five days, or from July 26 to 30, to catch up and save their SIMs from permanent deactivation.
Their incoming SMS is still left active so they could receive a one-time pin for the SIM registration.
“Globe recognizes the essential role of uninterrupted mobile and broadband services in our customers’ daily lives. So, as provided for in the law, SIM users get this last chance to register their SIMs after missing the initial and extended registration deadlines. Our team is committed to assisting our customers who need help. We strongly urge everyone to seize this opportunity to avoid any inconvenience,” said Ernest Cu, Globe Group president and chief executive officer.
