DEPARTMENT of Information and Communication Technology Secretary Ivan Uy yesterday said the 90-day extension of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration period will no longer be extended.
Uy said “It is final,” adding the law does not give them the authority to extend further.
Last Tuesday, President Marcos Jr. approved the 90-day extension of the SIM registration period that will end on July 25.
Uy urged subscribers to register their SIM cards in the next 90 days to avoid deactivation of their SIMs.
Uy said the DICT expects 100 million to 110 million subscribers to register nationwide until the end of the 90-day extension.
As of April 25, the total number of registered SIM cards in the country stood at 54.4 percent or a total of 91.4 million, out of 168 million total subscribers nationwide as of December 2022.
Of the total registered subscribers, Smart Communication Inc. has 43.2 million users, Globe Telecom 42 million and Dito Telecommunity Corp. 6.1 million, which is equivalent to 65 percent, 48.5 percent, and 40.8 percent, respectively, of their total subscriber base.
During the extension period, the DICT is looking at implementing the gradual deactivation of unregistered SIMs.
The DICT said it is reviewing the phased implementation of one or a combination of the following: barring access to value-added services, disallowing outgoing calls, and/or the extension of the reactivation period for deactivated SIMs.
Those measures shall be the subject of an amendment to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 11934 and shall be implemented pursuant to applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
