NTC to Hear Public on SIM Registration Act IRR

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is inviting all affected and interested parties to a public hearing on the draft implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11934, otherwise known as the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act.

 

In light of the recent proliferation of phishing scams and cybersecurity threats, the SIM Card Registration Act, enacted on October 10, 2022, requires the registration of new SIM cards with their respective Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) before they can be active. Existing users must register within 180 days from the effectivity of the law. To register, users must present a valid government-issued ID or any similar document to verify their identity.

 

Specifically under the draft IRR, the NTC imposes obligations upon the end-users to immediately register their SIM cards, report to their respective PTEs any change in information or loss of SIM card, and undertake not to sell or transfer their registered SIM without complying with the registration requirements. PTEs are also obliged to, among others, maintain a database of registered SIM cards, treat any obtained information as confidential, and report to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) any incident of cyber-attack on the SIM register.

 

The public hearing is to be conducted on December 5, 2022 via Zoom.

 

Read the full draft IRR here.