NTC directs telcos to report problems encountered during SIM registration

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has directed telecommunications companies to report to the agency problems encountered by their subscribers during SIM registration.

In a memorandum dated December 27, signed by NTC officer-in-charge Ella Blanca Lopez, the telecommunications regulator said it received information from the public about numerous incidents involving unsuccessful or incomplete SIM registration, as well as reports on social media that registration portals are down or inaccessible to subscribers.

The NTC directed the telcos to report "incidents of incomplete registration, platform involved, number of subscribers affected, geographical area, and actions taken to address these issues, as well as actions to mitigate or eliminate future incidents of similar nature."

The telcos were given until December 28 to submit a written report on their compliance.

Globe, in an advisory, asked the NTC for a maximum of 72 hours from December 27 to observe its SIM registration portal as it was made temporarily inaccessible while optimizing the site for an improved customer experience.

Smart, likewise, said its portal encountered heavy volumes of registrants all throughout the first day of SIM registration. 

DITO, meanwhile, said the SIM registration process was smooth as over 200,000 of its subscribers had successfully registered.

To register their SIM cards, users of DITO Telecommunity Corp. can visit https://dito.ph/registerDITO, Globe Telecom Inc. at https://new.globe.com.ph/simreg, and Smart at https://smart.com.ph/simreg.

Major telecommunications firms said they are fully prepared for the implementation of the SIM Card Registration Act but expect birthing pains in the initial stages. —VBL, GMA Integrated News