THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) over the weekend said text scam complaints had dropped significantly following the implementation of subscriber identity module (SIM) registrations.NTC Legal Branch Officer in Charge Andres Castelar Jr. said the number of complaints had fallen by 93.3 percent to 100 per day, from 1,500/day previously, and were expected to drop further once SIM registrations end next month.Based on NTC data, 42.7 million successful SIM registrations, 25.24 percent of the total 168 million active SIM subscribers as of September 2022, had been recorded as of March 9, 2023.Smart Communications Inc. reported that 21.8 million of its SIMs, 32 percent of its 67,995,734 subscribers, had been registered.Globe Telecom Inc., meanwhile, said 17.6 million or 20 percent of its 87.8 million subscribers had signed up.DITO Telecommunity Corp. reported that 3.2 million SIMs or 24 percent of its 13,108,103 subscribers were now recorded in the system.To encourage and educate more mobile phone users to register, Castelar said the NTC recently held an information caravan in Malabon and Caloocan cities.The information drive specifically targeted senior citizens, who were assured that their personal information would be protected by the SIM Registration Law. 'The telecom providers are the custodians of the SIM Register and the law provides harsh penalties for intentional disclosures of SIM registration data or breaches caused by negligence,' Castelar said.The information caravan complemented the NTC's continuing conduct of SIM registrations in remote areas all over the country.To date, 222 remote areas within the country have been visited by NTC's Facilitated SIM Registration caravan. The Department of Information and Communications Technology, meanwhile, has said that it was looking at extending the April 26 deadline for another 120 days.
