By Helen Magpantay Encarnacion
As the three-day National Simultaneous SIM Registration in remote areas started its first day roll out on January 25, 2023 Telecomm provider Smart and Talk ‘N Text expressed its “all out” support and commitment to the National Simultaneous Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card Registration.
During the Business Mirror’s Coffee Club online forum held last January 25, PLDT’s First Vice President and Group Head for Corporate Communications Cathy Yang stressed that along with its full support to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Simultaneous National SIM Registration, is Smart and Talk ‘Text’s complete commitment to protecting its subscribers’ information during the process.
Yang said that Smart is taking measures to ensure the protection and security of its subscribers’ information, saying that it “has already invested billions of pesos” and cited the Optical Character Registration technology that protects and encrypts each and every single individual’s personal information.
Smart portal
She explained that once personal data is entered, the information goes straight to the Smart portal and does not remain on phones or gadgets in company stores, registration booths and touchpoints.
However, Yang added that the public should also be on the lookout for their personal information by not giving personal information freely to other people.
As part of Smart’s effort to reach as many of its subscribers as possible, registration booths and touchpoints were installed in city, municipal and barangay halls, government offices, public markets, transportation terminals, airports and other high foot traffic areas in the National Capital Region, Northern and Central Luzon, Southern Luzon and the Bicol Region. Simultaneously, SIM Registration touchpoints were likewise installed in the Visayas and Mindanao.
She added that registration booths will also be set up and operated in Datu Sinsuat, Maguindanao, Lamitan Basilan, and Bongao, Tawi Tawi until January 27, ending date of the first of a series of three-day National Simultaneous SIM Registration.
Not leaving anyone behind
Yang said that Smart is not “leaving anyone behind” in the SIM registration that’s why they are pouring their “energy” in identified remote areas, including Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte; Pangantucan, Bukidnon; Palo, Leyte; Malalag, Davao del Sur; Moalboal, Cebu, and, Atok, Benguet, among others.
She mentioned the challenges that Smart encounters especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas as well as in conflict afflicted areas where careful coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police is conducted to ensure the safety of its personnel.
She also emphasized that the registration is free and that all SIM cards must be registered be they 2G or 3G as long as their device is SIM-enabled.
As of January 23, Smart and Talk ‘N Text has already registered 11,543,990 Prepaid SIM cards and 900,156 Post Paid SIM cards bringing the total to 12,444,146 (17.8 percent of the total subscriber base) registered SIM cards. According to Yang, Smart registers an average of 400,000 to 500,000 SIM cards daily. It has some 70 million subscribers all over the country.
When asked questions by online viewers such as if minors are allowed to register their SIM cards, she said that minors below 18 years old are not allowed to register. However, the parents could give their information instead. And once the minor turns 18, they can have their SIM cards registered. She added that having one’s own SIM Card may be considered a “Birthday Gift”.
More than 1 SIM
There are some who own more than one SIM card and Yang said that this is possible so long as every single SIM card is registered with true and correct information of the SIM owner. She warned that under the SIM Card Registration Act, heavy fines and imprisonment are imposed on violators.
On the subject of foreigners having to register their SIM cards, Yang said that tourists staying in the country for less than 30 days must register their SIM by providing their personal information (especially their nationality), date of exit and a copy of their departure plane ticket.
For foreigners staying for more than 30 days, their SIM may be registered with their personal information (especially nationality), their approved Extension of Stay permit and a copy of their revised return ticket. Meanwhile, foreign nationals working in the country may register their SIM using their Alien Employee Certificate.
Yang said that foreigners must protect their SIM cards and warned them to never give their SIM cards to other people because the foreigner/SIM registrant is liable should anything untoward happen involving the SIM.
In the case of lost SIM cards, Yang said that lost SIM cards must be reported to *888 immediately so that the SIM will be blocked by the system. Then the owner must go to the nearest Smart and Talk N Text outlets for a free replacement of their SIM cards of the same registered mobile number.
Yang also added that subscribers should continue using their SIM cards lest they will be considered “inactive”,
Budgeted process
When asked if subscribers shoulder the cost of the SIM registration, Yang said that the process is budgeted and that Smart considers it as an opportunity rather than a cost. She explained that the SIM registration ensures that the billions of pesos the company invests in cybersecurity pays off. The biggest payback is their subscribers ‘protection and safety
Smart Communications is “aligned with the advocacy of customer protection for both adult and children online to prevent scammers and predators from pursuing mobile phone-aided crimes,” Yang emphasized.
Advocating “safe spaces online” Yang said that Smart and Talk N’Text advocate consumer protection and encourages the public to put all dubious messages in the spam folder and report them to the NTC.
For her part, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo said that the start of the three-day Simultaneous SIM Registration went very well in the identified 15 remote pilot areas. She mentioned that the National SIM registration is being conducted with the of help of the Inter Agency Task Force composed of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, Department of Education, National Bureau of Investigation, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, among others.
Responding to the question of what the different cellphone-related crimes and scams are, Lamentillo mentioned subscribers being informed of their winning promos and raffles; phishing of messages where subscribers are lured into giving out their personal information by purportedly reputable companies; kidnapping in armed conflict areas; and G-cash scams, among others.
Saying that the DICT targets one million SIM subscribers a day, Lamentillo emphasized that the Simultaneous National SIM Registration will be conducted in other remote areas until the deadline on April 26, 2023.