The number of registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards in the Philippines has breached 20 million, said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Monday, Jan, 16, nearly three weeks after the mandatory registration began.

Based on the latest SIM registration tally provided by the DICT, the total number of registrants has climbed to 20,551,294 as of Jan. 15. This is only equivalent to 12.16 percent of the 168,977,773 existing subscribers nationwide.
Smart Communications reported a total of 10,041,791 registered SIMs. Globe Telecom, on the other hand, logged 8,764,568 registrants, while Dito Community registered a total of 1,744,935 cards so far.
“SIM Registration is being implemented in conjunction with the Data Privacy Act. Encryption of data is mandatory. Under the law, must ensure that data of end-users are secured, encrypted, and protected at all times,” said DICT Undersecretary and Spokesperson Anna Mae Lamentillo, urging the public to “register now” and “not wait” for the deadline set on April 26, 2023.
The department previously stated that they are “always willing to extend” the registration, but Lamentillo stressed that they will “do their best” first in order to accomplish all required registrations within the 180-day period pursuant to Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Registration Act.