Only in the Philippines!

Soon, cell-phone users will be required to register their subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. Otherwise, they won’t be able to make calls or send text messages.

This is what the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is working on just in case House Bills 92 and 1313 fail to become law before the May elections.

“At this point, we are already conceptualizing who will handle the database, the cost and when to implement it. We will try to issue an NTC memorandum circular [MC] but we will need to consider a lot of things, so we need to talk with all the government agencies concerned such as the Neda [National Economic and Development Authority] and NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] on what identification card they will require,” said NTC Deputy Commissioner Douglas Michael Mallilin.



Two House bills are pending with both requiring the registration of SIM cards and handsets, which are aimed at curbing use of cellular phones in scams and other criminal activities.

Mallilin presented two scenarios if lawmakers are unsuccessful in passing the proposed measures—the next Congress would refile the bills or the NTC will issue a circular, which the commission anticipates will rub the telcos the wrong way again, not to say the phone subscribers who would surely see this as another “Big Brother” government move.

Veteran observes said such is the distrust that government has sunk to after several successive administrations have allegedly suckered in the people.

On this privacy issue, Mallilin said it would be best if the telcos or another private entity maintain the database since the assumption of most is that information is best kept at the hands of the private sector rather than government. “A lot of people are concerned with government housing such information. It will not be subjected to too much politics if we let the private sector handle the database.”

“Congress is left with a number of days to work on this otherwise all the bills will just die. If they passed this as a law then there’s no point in coming up with an MC because if the bills are passed then the only thing the NTC will do is to implement it and we will not be met by an injunction. But if the NTC does it by itself then there is a probability that we will be brought back to court for a TRO [temporary restraining order] again,” said Mallilin.

“The contents of the MC will be very general. It’s the rules that are very detailed. The NTC will set out procedures or protocol. At the very least, the point of initiation will be this year,” added Mallilin.

The registration of SIM cards was included in a 2000 circular issued by the NTC but a court had barred the agency from implementing it.  

The NTC official said the mobile-phone networks are already capable of detecting registered versus unregistered SIMs. However, he acknowledged this is not an indication they agree to the proposed measures.

“When we were talking to the telcos, we asked them if their networks are capable of screening and they said yes. Their current systems, especially the intelligent networks, are all capable of doing that. So, if your SIM is not registered, no calls or text messages can be made and their systems are capable of doing that also. However, I would assume that they still have the same position as they had then when they objected to the 2000 circular. On the other hand, they might be willing also because they are aware of the security issues. The NTC can’t forever ask the telcos to block a certain number. This becomes a useless exercise,” he said.   

The telcos are expected to raise concerns on revenue impact if the SIM cards are to be registered. A new subscriber who wants to immediately activate a new but unregistered SIM will not be able to make calls. Hence, the revenue loss on the part of the telcos.

Phone firms have earlier argued that such a move would entail higher costs for the companies, which they said would eventually be passed on to consumers.

Mallilin said whoever houses the database will also shoulder the cost. He stressed, however, the main concerns that need to be immediately address are logistics, ID cards and safeguarding the database. “The concept is easy but at this point in time when you have 70 million subscribers, the logistics behind becomes more difficult. Also, what identification cards will be honored? As such, there is a certain protection that we want to employ in the SIM registration.”  

With millions of active SIMs in the market, the NTC is thinking of a staggered registration for existing subscribers. “Perhaps, one scenario could be is to schedule the registration of the SIMs ending in certain numbers. If you fail to register your SIM during the period within which you are supposed to, then the phone company will automatically not allow you to make calls,” said Mallilin.

A mechanism is also being ironed out for recycled SIMs. A subscriber who acquired a SIM card that had been registered by its previous owner should again register the SIM containing information from the new user.

The NTC said that SIM-card registration is becoming a common approach to curb criminal acts and improve national security in the Asian region.

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei—all less open than the Philippines—have already implemented a system of registration of SIM cards.

Source: Lenie Lectura, businessmirror.com.ph