By Manny Pham
The Philippines reported operators have signed up over 30 million SIM cards in days since the
introduction of the SIM card registration law to combat hackers and fraudulent activity.
In a statement, the Department of Information and Technology (DICT) detailed the figure is
17.76 per cent of 168.9 million subscribers nationwide.
PLDT subsidiary Smart Communications reported to the regulator 15.4 million customers
registered their SIM cards which is almost a quarter (22.76%) of its subscriber base. Globe
Telecom recorded 12.2 million SIM cards which accounts for 13.89 per cent of its 87.8 million
customer base. Meanwhile, DITO Telecommunity reported 2.3 million registered SIM cards or
17.79 per cent of its 13.1 million of its subscribers.
DICT secretary Ivan John Uy said: “We are seeing good progress in terms of the registered
subscribers, and we look forward to how this will translate to a safer and more secure digital
communications in the coming days.”
DICT is also collaborating with the National Telecommunications Commission to register SIM
cards in 15 remote regions.
The Philippines ratified its SIM registration law this month and had seen support from
operators. The country has a massive fraud problem stemming from scam text messages and
phone calls, which prompted operators to beef up security systems. Globe Telecom reported it
blocked almost 3 billion fraudulent calls and messages in 2022, double the figure from the year
prior.
https://developingtelecoms.com
