The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) warns that there will be no extension of the deadline for SIM registration.
With only 22 days left before the 26 April 2023 deadline for SIM registration, it is imperative that all unregistered citizens take this matter seriously and register their SIMs without delay, DICT said in a statement.
Failure to register SIMs before the deadline will result in deactivation, rendering them unusable for voice calls, text messaging, and mobile data services, DICT warned.
This action is part of the government’s effort to improve national security and curb fraudulent activities such as scams and identity theft.
Recent statistics released by major Public Telecommunication Entities (PTEs) — DITO Telecommunity Corp., Globe Telecom Inc., and Smart Communications Inc. — as of 30 March 2023, show that the number of registered SIMs are as follows: DITO – 4,170,923; Globe – 22,683,410; and SMART – 27,846,566.
This brings the total number of registered SIMs to 54,700,899, which is 32.37% of the 168,977,773 million subscribers nationwide.
To avoid fraudulent activities, the DICT also reminds the public to register only through the official links of PTEs.
The department cautions the public to remain vigilant against entities that may try to scam them by offering assistance with SIM registration.
Some may pose as authorized representatives of the government or PTEs but they may have malicious intentions to steal personal information and commit fraud.