THE number of registered prepaid Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards has reached 16 million, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Tuesday.
“We already have more than 16 million SIMs registered as of January 9 and the number of complaints have significantly dropped from an average of 95 complaints during the first week, down to an average of 47 during the second week,” said DICT Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo.
Of total 16,150,926 registered SIMs, 7,584,321 are subscribers of Smart Communications Inc., 7,137,764 from Globe Telecom Inc. and 1,428,841 from DITO Telecommunity Corp.
According to Lamentillo, the agency was able, during the first few days, to have monitored complaints surrounding the process. These complaints include users being unable to load the platform provided by public telecommunication entities (PTEs) and their inability to complete the process. Other technical issues were also raised.
“This is actually the reason why the first two weeks of the SIM registration was launched as a test period, to give the PTEs ample time to adjust and improve their system,” she added.
Lull, surge
THE agency launched the 24/7 Complaint Center Hotline 1326, which serves as the public’s direct contact to government in matters relating to the SIM registration and other ICT-related concerns.
Most of the concerns were about the SIM registration process, website malfunction or not loading and where to register. There are also queries about the following: how many SIMs one user can register; the deadline for registration; what to do when they entered the wrong details; and, concerns on data privacy.
Lamentillo said the DICT’s goal is to register at least one million SIMs every day.
“Currently, we are on track, but there could be a lull and then a surge again once we are near the deadline,” added the DICT official.
The SIM registration is mandated by Republic Act (RA) 11934 (SIM Registration Act). Lawmakers believe that the registration would protect consumers from fraudulent calls and scams.
Privacy Commission
THE National Privacy Commission (NPC) said its officials met with officials of telecommunications companies (telcos) last December 29, specifically to address the public’s data privacy concerns in relation to the effectivity of RA 11934.
The registration officially commenced on December 27, 2022.
The NPC said it gathered various concerns from the public including matters relating to terms and conditions and privacy policies being implemented by telcos. The meeting was called by Privacy Commissioner John Henry D. Naga to shed light on these concerns, including the notices and tick-boxes that may be displayed on the websites of telcos as well as mobile applications asking for the users’ permission or consent in using their personal data submitted for marketing, profiling, or sharing with third-party partners.
Optional
ACCORDING to the NPC officials from Smart Communications clarified these are just optional and are being included to determine whether the SIM card is being used by an individual or a juridical entity. Similarly, Globe Telecom stated that the option for their clients to allow the receipt of commercial and promotional alerts and third-party sharing, among others were only optional while Dito Telecommunity’s SIM Card Registration, which can be accessed through its application, did not include other tick-boxes asking for consent on marketing, profiling, or sharing with third-party partners.
The NPC said Naga ordered telcos to totally remove the notices and tick-boxes pertaining to data sharing with third-party entities. He further directed telcos to put on a separate page the notices and tick-boxes related to commercial and promotional alerts. In addition, he instructed Smart, Globe and Dito to include modifications and improvements on their websites and applications to further comply with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
“Telcos must ensure the secure, ethical and responsible handling of data, especially in all data processing being conducted in compliance with the SIM Registration Act,” Naga was quoted in a statement as saying.