THE GOVERNMENT and telecommunication companies should set up manned kiosks in shopping malls and public spaces such as community centers to help facilitate the registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, especially for those who are not adept with online mobile applications, a lawmaker said on Thursday.
“This means an offsite venue would serve as an inquiry or information booth, and at the same time a registration center that would assist non-techie mobile users and those without internet access,” Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay said in a statement
She called on the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and telecomm service providers to set up these stalls to make SIM card registration easier amid difficulties encountered since the start of the new law’s implementation on Tuesday.
“Maybe we can refer to the COVID vaccination centers of local government units as a template or operational model,” Ms. Binay said.
She also asked the DICT to roll out an “omnibus and unified” nationwide information drive, and provide free internet access in offsite registration centers.
Bohol Rep. Kristine Alexie B. Tutor, meanwhile, suggested that SIM card registration be done in batches based on the first and last digits of the phone numbers.
“They could simply issue a schedule listing the batches of SIM numbers that should register per week,” Ms. Tutor, one of the authors of the law, said in a separate statement. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz