NTC: Only 45 percent of SIM cards registered

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Friday said only 75.5 million SIM cards were registered as of April 20, or 45 percent of the 168 million SIM cards in use.

But NTC Deputy Commissioner Jon Paulo Salvahan said the government was not targeting a 100-percent registration of SIM users.

“We’re not looking for 100-percent registration because most likely those other SIMs will not be registered, either one reason or another,” Salvahan said.

Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, and DITO Telecommunity have called for an extension of the SIM card registration considering that days before the deadline, registered SIM cards were still below 50 percent of the total subscribers nationwide.

Smart and Globe have pointed out that people needed an extension to apply for a government ID, which is a requirement for SIM card registration. —Nestor Corrales

READ: SIM registration law: Usec. Lamentillo tells all to comply