The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), National Telecommunications Commission, and other stakeholders are considering extending the SIM card registration deadline of April 26, as only 66,220,334 of the total 168 million SIMs have been registered as of April 11. Both Globe Telecom and Smart Communications have called for the extension citing the low registration turnout, which they attribute to the lack of valid IDs among subscribers. Smart Communications has officially filed a letter of request to lobby for a 120-day extension, which is the maximum allowed by law, stating that the extension will give the public more time to secure valid IDs and reduce the risk of digital, social and financial exclusion. Failure to register will result in the deactivation of mobile services.
