First day of online SIM card registration runs into server issues
On December 27, the first day of online SIM card registration, the early birds could not “get the worm.” Despite assurances by the country’s telecommunications providers that their respective sites are ready to handle the expected volume of SIM card registrations online, the reality failed to meet expectations.
Subscribers who tried to register through the websites provided by telecommunications giants Smart Communications and Globe Telecom in the early hours of Tuesday ran into error messages due to server issues. DITO Telecommunity’s site appeared to work for a short while before succumbing to server problems due to the high volume of users.
A lucky few, postpaid subscribers in particular, were able to successfully register their SIMs.
The rest of us are well-advised to wait until glitches are fixed. It’s understandable that many subscribers would want to register early so they could be done with it, but in a country with unreliable telecoms infrastructure, it might be prudent to wait.
The SIM Registration Act requires the registration of all SIMs, including those in card and electronic form, as a prerequisite to activation. Under the measure, users of all mobile devices, including prepaid broadband devices, must register their SIMs with their respective service providers.
Subscribers can register their SIM cards through the following websites:
SMART & TNT:
https://smart.com.ph/simreg
GLOBE:
https://new.globe.com.ph/simreg
DITO:
https://dito.ph/RegisterDITO
According to the law’s implementing rules and regulations or IRR, mobile phone subscribers with prepaid SIM cards must register and verify their phone numbers with their respective public telecommunications companies or PTEs 180 days from Dec. 27, 2022. After the extension period of 120 days, unregistered SIMs will be deactivated. Owners of deactivated SIMs have only five days to register and reactivate.
As for postpaid subscribers, their data submitted to their respected service provider will only need to be verified.
Proponents argue that the law is meant to prevent cybercrime and spam text messages, although privacy rights advocates have expressed doubt whether it will actually work given the failure of similar measures in other countries.
