PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc (Smart) and value brand TNT are set to join the three-day, nationwide assisted SIM Registration roadshow being organized by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), to boost SIM Registration and reach far-flung areas where mobile customers are.
“Smart and TNT are working closely with the National Telecommunications Commission as the agency sets up facilitated SIM registration booths for residents in remote areas,” said Cathy Yang, FVP and Group Head of Corporate Communications at PLDT and Smart.
“Since the launch of the SIM registration process last December 27, Smart and TNT have taken the lead in the industry setting up assisted SIM registration booths at stores, markets, terminals, schools, government offices, and other locations accessible to the public across the Philippines, in collaboration with local government units, partner stores, and regional and provincial distributors. These assisted booths and touchpoints are meant to fast-track SIM registration, and the simultaneous SIM Registration with the NTC is seen to help hasten the process further. Smart and TNT personnel will provide a priority lane for seniors, for persons with disabilities, and for those using basic phones, in order to make SIM Registration as inclusive as possible. This is aligned with our commitment not to leave anyone behind.”
From January 25 to January 27, assisted SIM Registration booths will be established by the NTC, Smart, TNT and other PTEs in five regions per day, hitting one far-flung municipality in each of the identified regions. These municipalities include upland areas like Atok in Benguet, island municipality Moalboal in Cebu, and Arakan in the landlocked province of Cotabato in Mindanao.
Smart and TNT were the first to deploy assisted SIM Registration booths and touchpoints across the country starting December 27, 2022, on the same day that Smart launched its SIM Registration portal http://www.smart.com.ph/simreg.
Last week, Smart also organized “Sulong SIM Registration”, the first ever LGU cascade on SIM Registration among Philippine telcos, which drew close to a thousand LGU executives from provincial governments to barangay officials, from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
During the online cascade, representatives from the NTC, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged hundreds of LGU executives to actively collaborate to encourage mobile users across the country to register their SIMs.
Republic Act (RA) 11934 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, the first law inked by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., regulates the use of SIM cards, by mandating all end-users to register their SIMs under their name.
PLDT and Smart’s support for SIM Registration underscores the PLDT group’s longstanding consumer protection initiatives, which includes blocking SIMs that send ‘smishing’ messages and Uniform Resource Locators (URL) or links that lead to illegal activities, to help safeguard the public against emerging cyberthreats, vulnerabilities, and other online criminal activities.
