TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 4 (PIA) – By now, based on the SIM Registration Law timeline, public telecommunications entities (PTEs) should have already registered 90 million subscribers.

But only a little over 30 million mobile phone subscribers out of the estimated 183 million subscribers in the country have been registered to date, with April 26 set as the deadline for the SIM card registration.

That means in the next two months, PTEs need to register 45 million subscribers.

During the SIM sign-in event organized by the Philippine Information Agency’s (PIA) Association of United Development Information Officers (AUDIO) in Bohol, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said their latest figure indicates that the country has accomplished only a little over 20% SIM cards registered after two months of registrations.

The SIM Card Law or Republic Act No. 11934, is a Philippine law mandating the registration of SIM cards before activation.

Under the same measure, mobile device users, including prepaid and postpaid, must register their SIM cards within 180 days after the implementation of the law, or they face the inconvenience of getting their mobile phone services deactivated.

The SIM Registration Act forces the registration of all SIM cards, in efforts to promote proper accountability and allow law enforcement agencies with a the facility to solve mobile phone crimes and identify the owner of a number that is being used illegally.

The first law signed by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the SIM Registration Act was implemented starting Dec. 27, and will continue until April 26, when non-registrants can start experiencing the discomfort of deactivated numbers and discontinued services.

In a country with a population of only about 113 million, many subscribers keep mobile phones with dual SIM cards.

With 183 million subscribers to be registered in four months, the PTEs should be able to register a total of 45 million a month to beat the April 26 deadline.

Subscribers of Smart or TNT SIM card can access the Smart SIM registration portal at smart.com.ph/simreg.

For Globe and TM SIM card subscribers, visit the SIM card registration portal new.globe.com.ph/simreg. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)