「日刊まにら新聞」ウェブ

On the first day of SIM card registration, Globe and Smart subscribers said they were unable to access the online registration platforms as they were rolled out on Tuesday.

The SIM Registration Act mandates that all SIM users must register their SIMs with their respective telecommunication (telco) firms.

Users are given 180 days to enroll their SIM, starting December 27 until April 26.

There are around 160 million SIM card users in the Philippines, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said.

Some Globe users commented on Facebook that clicking the link for registration only redirected them to the FAQ section.

In response, Globe said in an advisory posted on Facebook: “Should you encounter difficulty accessing the site, please try again later. Rest assured that we are optimizing our systems to give you a better registration experience.”

Globe corporate communications head Yoly Crisanto earlier said that some users reported that the registration website went null.

“There are reports that the website becomes null. That’s why we took it down to assess what the problems are and to fix them. I just want to say that we are giving time. Let’s just wait within the day, it will be up for sure,” Crisanto told dzBB.

“Since the registration is until April 26. The point is, you should use that time to register. Schedule it if you want to register. The only request we have for our customers is not to wait until the last day to register,” she added.

Crisanto assured the Globe subscribers that they were ready for a large number of registrants.

“As you know, the telco is capable of getting volumes because that’s the number of our customers and that’s really the transaction that goes through the network. There are really a lot of them, so we are ready,” she said.

Meanwhile, Smart subscribers said the site for registration was down.

In a separate advisory, Smart said: “Due to the high volume of registrants, some subscribers may experience difficulty accessing the SIM registration site. Our technical team is working on increasing capacity.”

Cathy Yang, PLDT-Smart first vice president and corporate communications head, said they will improve the registering process after hearing reports that Smart users had issues with the one-time password (OTP).

“I will report this issue on the OTP becoming null and void because this is the only way to learn. This is the first time we are ever doing this nationwide. So we are only able to refine the portal, the registration process with the feedback that subscribers give,” she told dzBB.

Department of Information and Communication (DICT) Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo in a statement released Tuesday said they are launching a complaint center where SIM users can report problems encountered during the registration.

Lamentillo said that the first two weeks of registration will be considered a “test period” that will allow telcos to “fine-tune” their processes.

DICT Undersecretary Alexander Ramos, head of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center, said on dzBB that they have received 120 complaints related to the SIM registration. Jaspearl Tan/DMS