KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PIA) -- The municipality of Arakan, Cotabato Province will be one of the pilot areas of the government-assisted subscriber identity module (SIM) registration caravans spearheaded by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said one of the challenges in SIM card registration is the lack of Wi-Fi connection in remote areas.

To assist people in those areas, Secretary Uy said they will carry out assisted SIM registration for residents to ensure that the implementation of the SIM registration law is inclusive.

The DICT’s Free Wi-Fi sites will serve as the hubs for SIM registration in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs).

The assisted SIM registration in Arakan is scheduled on January 27 at the Emergency Operations Center (MDRRM Office), Evacuation Center Building inside the municipal compound.

Residents are advised to bring their mobile phones with the SIM they will register and one valid government ID with photo.

As of Tuesday, a total of 24,572,555 SIM cards have so far been registered—making up for the 14.54 percent of the 168,977,773 active SIMs in the country. (PIA-XII)