THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the rate of registration for mobile phones’ subscriber identity module (SIM) users hit 25.84% on March 11.
The total number of registered subscribers was 43.67 million, out of the 168.98 million subscribers nationwide.
The DICT said the registration rate was 32.85% for Smart Communications, Inc., equivalent to 22.34 million subscribers. The Globe Telecom, Inc. registration rate was 20.52%, equivalent to 18.03 million subscribers. DITO Telecommunity Corp. registrations totaled 3.3 million or 25.19% of all subscribers.
“The Department has been actively working with (telcos) to ensure that all SIMs are registered and verified,” Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John E. Uy said.
SIM registration was made a legal requirement to prevent fraud, including consumer scams and identity theft, he added.
The department urged more SIM users to register ahead of the April 26 deadline. — Justine Irish D. Tabile