PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

DITO Telecommunity Corp. called for a 120-day extension of the subscriber identity module (SIM) registration, citing low compliance so far with less than 50% of subscribers having signed on.

“Considering that more than 50% of nationwide subscribers of all telcos have yet to register, disallowing the extension may result in disenfranchisement of subscribers that may prove detrimental to the current government initiative,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.

PLDT, Inc. wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc., in a separate press release, said it has submitted a formal request letter to the government for a 120-day extension.

DITO said while it acknowledges that a percentage of the still unregistered subscribers have no clear intention to register, there are also active users “who are merely experiencing difficulty in registering.”

The company said it has already sent a position paper to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Secretary Ivan John E. Uy.

Meanwhile, Smart First Vice President and Head of Group Corporate Communications Cathy Y. Yang said on Thursday that the time provided for the over 160 million subscribers nationwide to register is significantly shorter in comparison to the time window allotted in other countries.

“Comparatively, in other countries, like Indonesia and India, public telco entities were given 1 to 2 years of a registration window,” she said.

“We don’t want to alienate or leave behind the remaining 50% who have not registered. So, we are supporting another 120 days extension from April 26,” she added in mixed English and Filipino.

As of April 11, the ICT department recorded 66.22 million registered SIMs, accounting for 39.41% of the total 168.98 million subscribers nationwide.

Of the total registered SIMs, 32.93 million were from Smart, 28.33 million from Globe Telecom, Inc., and 4.95 million from DITO. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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