The deadline for registration of all Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) in circulation is April 26, 2023. However, with less than two weeks before the deadline, only 65,154,570 SIMs have so far been registered. That is less than 40 percent of the over 170 million SIMs in circulation. Based on figures of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) as of April 10, Smart Communications, Inc. has registered 32,479,499 SIMs; Globe Telecom, Inc, 27,826,028 SIMs; and DITO Telecommunity, 4,892,043. The telecommunication companies (telcos) attributed the low registration turnout mostly to lack of valid government-issued IDs, as well as digital literacy and geographical challenges facing SIM holders. Unless the registration deadline is extended or a miracle happens in the next few days, some 105 million SIM holders are bound to be displaced and marginalized in this fast-paced digital age. With the bulk of SIMs still unregistered, telecommunication companies are seeking an extension of the deadline to allow holders more time to secure valid government-issued IDs and get acquainted with the digital challenges. “We are filing this request to help give ample time to all mobile users, particularly the marginal-ized sectors and those located in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas of the country, to register their SIMs,” Cathy Yang, PLDT and Smart first vice president and head of Group Corporate Communications, said on Wednesday, April 12. "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," Globe Telecom said in a statement. Globe also appealed to the government to allow alternative forms of identification like company IDs, school IDs, and barangay certificates, for those who do not have valid government-issued IDs. It also sought conditional registration within a reasonable period to enable SIM holders to continue us-ing their telecommunication services while working to secure  valid IDs. The telcos have valid points and the DICT should consider these. In fairness, top DICT officials acknowledged that they are studying the request for extension of the registration period. Without an extension, education of millions of students and digital transactions of those living in the fringes and disadvantaged locations may be seriously affected. And with the Marcos administration moving to fasttrack the shift to digitalization, an extension of the registration period is necessary to help integrate these over 100 million SIM holders into digital space. To stick to the current deadline will only marginalize them and slow down the shift to digitali-zation.