Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and its value brand TNT are asking the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to extend the April 26, 2023 deadline for subscribers to register their SIM cards.
“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,” according to Cathy Yang, First Vice President and head of Group Corporate Communications at PLDT and Smart.
“We are here to continuously support the government in its SIM Registration initiative. While we have led in the number of registrations to date with about 46% of our total number of subscribers already registered, and which is higher than industry average, we see the need to give subscribers more time to secure the government IDs required to register their SIMs. We stand ready with government to support any undertaking to fast track completing the SIM Registration process as required by law,” Yang added.
Smart has set up hundreds of assisted SIM Registration booths in far-flung municipalities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, working closely with the organizer NTC, DICT, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the inter-agency committee on remote areas registration, and other public telecommunications entities.
At these booths, you can get information and advice on registering Smart or TNT SIMs with valid ID cards.
Seniors, people with disabilities, and people with non-data phones can also get help.
According to Republic Act (RA) 11934, also known as the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, which regulates the use of SIM cards to help stop text scams and other crimes that use mobile phones, SIM users have until April 26, 2023 to register their SIMs under their names or risk having their SIMs turned off. However, the DICT could still order a more extended registration period.
New and existing Smart Prepaid and TNT subscribers may access Smart’s SIM registration portal through https://www.smart.com.ph/simreg, while Postpaid customers can simply text YES to 5858 to confirm their registration.
