As of April 11, Globe has registered 27.85 million subscribers in its network representing about 32 percent of its total mobile customer base. With just two weeks to go before the April 26 deadline, we have yet to touch at least 50% of total registrations – other telcos similarly situated based on the latest available data.
Since the IRR has been implemented, Globe continued its awareness and educational campaigns through sustained digital posts, in-app notifications, use of traditional media, face-to-face communications, and instructional videos to drive urgency to register their SIMs.
Despite these efforts, we have seen a low registration count primarily due to the lack of valid government IDs, and challenged digital literacy.
Given these issues, we appeal to the government to extend the SIM registration process to give our customers more time to get their required government IDs and input the required information on our site.
In order to maximize our efforts, we are also seeking the Government’s support on the following items:
○ Alternative Forms of Identification: Consider allowing alternative forms of identification, such as company IDs, school IDs, and barangay certificates, for those who do not have a valid government-issued IDs.
○ Allow conditional registration: Provide conditional registration options that allow individuals to continue using their telecommunication services while they work to obtain a valid ID within a reasonable period. They can either have a post-verification or update their details once they have the appropriate government ID
○ Create Always-On Government-Handled Assisted Registration Centers: Use government offices as hubs for SIM Registration through volunteers and LGU employees, complemented by ID issuance services.
Failure to register SIMs would result in deactivation and will be very disruptive to our customers, as their basic right to communication will be curtailed. This will impact several aspects of their daily life including banking (ayuda is distributed via e-wallets), e-commerce, transportation (ride-hailing apps, food delivery, etc), healthcare, education (online learning), entertainment and more.
Globe is working closely with the National Telecommunications Commission, relevant government agencies and other stakeholders in ensuring that we register as many subscribers as possible before the April 26 deadline. Together, we will make sure that the implementation of the law will be effective and true to its intent to curb cybercrime, particularly SIM-enabled scam messaging.