With the SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration’s pilot testing nearing conclusion, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is ramping up the mandatory enlistment process as it zeroes in on providing assistance in remote areas where subscribers may be having a hard time complying due to lack of connectivity.
NTC Deputy Commissioner Ella Blanca Lopez, at a press briefing in Quezon City on Jan. 6, said the regulator has created a task force coordinating with regional offices to identify the locations needing the help of the government and the public telecommunication entities (PTEs) for the SIM registration.
The NTC also plans to put up registration facilities in these areas, said NTC Deputy Commissioner Jon Paulo Salvahan.
“There will be an ad hoc committee composed of several pertinent government agencies, together with the PTEs, who will facilitate registration in those remote areas,” Salvahan said.
He explained that this initiative was in line with the SIM card registration law, which requires the government to extend assistance to areas with limited telecommunication and internet services.
As of Jan. 6, Globe Telecom Inc. registered 6.4 million SIM cards; Smart Communications Inc., over 7 million; and DITO Telecommunity, 1.37 million. These total to nearly 15 million SIM cards, or almost 9 percent of the 168 million mobile subscribers.
Subscribers’ concerns
Lopez said the telcos did a good job in handling the technical issues surrounding the SIM card registration, noting that they were able to respond quickly to subscribers’ concerns.
The NTC official explained that such concerns were only expected during the early period of registration but the telcos “were able to bounce back from that.”
Apart from portals being down, subscribers complained about their failure to secure one-time PINs (personal identification number) and system errors during the registration.
“As far as NTC is concerned, we are satisfied … of how the telcos are handling the SIM registration, as well as the enhancement of the system after the first three days of registration,” Lopez said.
PLDT and Smart head of corporate communications Cathy Yang and Globe Telecom Inc. corporate and legal services group head Ariel Tubayan said they had to optimize their registration portals in order to accommodate the surge in applications. Both the telco giants said processes improved after placing such measures.
DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano, meanwhile, said they only received 3,388 complaints out of the 1.2 million registrations. The third telco player also has a 94-percent complaint resolution rate, he said.
All the telco players vowed to continue working on their platforms to ensure a smooth registration process for the mobile subscribers.
Yang and Tubayan said they were aiming to make the process time shorter moving forward. INQ