Globe Telecom Inc. said Thursday it started the preparations to ensure a credible and customer-friendly rollout of the SIM card registration of more than 87.4 million customers.
“We intend for our SIM registration process to be as seamless and painless to our customers as possible. Our goal is to stay true to the spirit of the law in carrying out its provisions, while ensuring that the conduct of SIM registration will be secure, inclusive and convenient for our customers,” Globe Group president and chief executive Ernest Cu said.
The National Telecommunications Commission started consultations with relevant government agencies and various stakeholders including telecom companies for purposes of crafting the implementing rules and regulations of the law, which was signed on Oct. 10.
Once the IRR is approved and published, Globe will start the registration of all users of SIMs, including physical SIM cards and e-SIMs on mobile devices.
Globe said it was looking at international best practices in designing the SIM registration platform. It is also leveraging its suite of best-in-class digital solutions to deliver an easy but secure registration system.
“We’d like to assure our customers that their data will be protected even as we give them a hassle-free registration process. We wish to effectively roll out this landmark law,” said Cu.
The Philippines’ SIM Registration Act is envisioned to address escalating cybercrime in the country, including the proliferation of smishing and other forms of scam and spam messaging aided by the anonymity afforded by prepaid SIMs.
Scam and spam SMS affected mobile phone users, and Globe said it took steps to curb disruptive messages through proactive blocking, threat intelligence partnerships with financial institutions, a customer reporting portal and an awareness and education campaign to help customers protect themselves.
Globe said that from January to September this year, it deactivated 16,215 mobile numbers and blacklisted 19,343 more for involvement in scam and spam messaging. It also blocked 1.3 billion spam and scam messages in the same period.
