According to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), as of Thursday, April 20, only 75.5 million SIM cards were registered. That’s only 45% of the 168 million current SIM cards in use in the country.
SIM Card Registration
Jon Paulo Salvahan, NTC Deputy Commissioner clarified though that the government wasn’t expecting 100% registration.
“We’re not looking for 100-percent registration because most likely those other SIMs will not be registered, either one reason or another,” Salvahan said in a statement to the press last Friday.
The telcos though are asking for an extension for the registration because less than 50% of total subscribers nationwide are registered. However, the NTC has been firm that the registration period won’t be extended.
The SIM Card Registration Act was signed into a law in October 2022 and it gave SIM users until April 26 to register their cards. After the deadline, those that don’t register their cards will get their SIMs deactivated automatically.
However, the law gives the Department of Information and Communications Technology the power to extend the deadline by another 120 days if it deems it fit or necessary. The department mentioned last Saturday that it will meet today to decide if the registration period will be extended or not.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
