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| (Image Source: Smart Communications) |
Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) and its value brand TNT deployed assisted SIM Registration booths in 15 far-flung municipalities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao last January 25-27, 2023. The three-day deployment, done in close collaboration with the organizer National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the inter-agency committee on remote areas registration, and other public telecommunications entities, enabled thousands of mobile users to easily and conveniently comply with the SIM Registration Law.
From Brgy. Estancia in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, 64-year-old Rodvella Petronilla Ramos was able to register her Smart prepaid SIM as well as her Smart retailer SIM at the assisted SIM Registration deployed at the municipality's town center. “Mabilis ang pag register at malaking tulong ung pagpunta sa Barangay Estancia ng Smart para tumulong at mapabilis sa pagregister," said Ramos who has been a Smart retailer for more than 10 years. On the other hand, the Smart SIM Registration booth deployed at the Municipal Gym in Palo, Leyte was visited by hundreds of Palon-ons who came from the different barangays of the municipality. “Thanks to Smart for the very smooth registration of my SIM. We hope that this effort will reach more areas to assist those who are unsure how to register,” said Geneve Aumentado, a Smart subscriber from Brgy. San Jose. Aside from Pasuquin and Palo, Smart also deployed these booths in in Moalboal, Cebu; Pangantucan, Bukidnon; in Malalag, Davao del Sur; Calumpit, Bulacan; Rosario, Batangas; Atok, Benguet; Camalaniugan, Cagayan; Zamboanga City; Baco, Oriental Mindoro; City of Ligao, Albay; Carles, Iloilo; Arakan, Cotabato; and Tagbina, Surigao del Sur.
Alongside this series of nationwide assisted SIM registration in remote areas led by the NTC, Smart has also collaborated with the Bangsamoro Telecommunications Commission to help boost SIM registration in the region. From January 25 to 27, Smart and TNT assisted SIM registration sites were deployed in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte; at the Lamitan public market in Basilan; and at the Bonggao public market in Tawi-Tawi. "We are doing our best to bring our SIM registration efforts closer to our kababayans in the far-flung areas, and we are thankful for the cooperation and support of the LGUs and the telcos to help make this initiative a success,” said NTC Region VIII Regional Director Willie Zabala. “We are glad to collaborate with our regulator NTC, the Departments of Information and Communications Technology and Interior and Local Government, other members of the inter-agency committee on remote areas registration, as well as with our fellow public telecommunications entities to help the government accelerate SIM Registration, particularly where our customers may have connectivity challenges. This is aligned with our commitment to not leave anyone behind in SIM Registration,” according to PLDT and Smart First Vice President and Corporate Communications Group Head Cathy Yang.
Prior to the deployment of SIM Registration booths in various remote areas nationwide, Smart also organized “Sulong SIM Registration”, the first ever LGU cascade on SIM Registration among Philippine telcos, which drew close to a thousand Local Government Unit (LGU) executives from provincial governments to barangay officials from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. During the online cascade, representatives from the NTC, DICT, and the DILG urged hundreds of LGU executives to actively collaborate to encourage mobile users across the country to register their SIMs. The government agencies also commended Smart for actively engaging LGUs to boost SIM Registration. According to NTC OIC Commissioner Atty. Ella Blanca Lopez, “Smart's drive to get as many subscribers to register their SIMs can only be achieved with the solid and steadfast support of the various local government units, especially in remote areas where aided registration is much needed. It is vital that we increase the current pace of daily SIM registration to meet our deadline of April 26, 2023, and the NTC together with PTEs is determined to maximize SIM registration in remote areas. We acknowledge Smart’s effort in organizing this event with the intention of informing more people about the law, and inviting them to register. I appeal to all LGUs to actively take part in our desire to reach as many as many SIM subscribers as possible, and to assist telcos in their aided registration especially in remote areas.”
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. Barely a month after PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications launched its SIM registration portal (www.smart.com.ph/simreg) and deployed assisted registration booths across the country, about 14 million Smart and TNT customers have successfully registered their SIMs, the largest number among all mobile service providers.
