The recent string of bombings in the country has prompted the debate over pre-paid SIM card registration. This is because the bombers used a cellphone to remotely trigger the bomb on the bus in EDSA.
The debate revolves around privacy concerns and national security. This has been discussed before and there were actually efforts before to make into a law requiring prepaid SIM card buyers to register the number to their name. Obviously, that move was stuck down by privacy advocates and lobbyists but because of the recent incidents, the issue has been revived.
SIM card registration is being implemented in many countries around the world, including neighboring Singapore. Aside from security issues, there are many other benefits that can be derived from the move to register pre-paid SIM cards.
- Postpaid Subscribers already do SIM registration. Over 2 million postpaid subscribers in the Philippines have registered their names against their SIM cards and the system has been in place for over a decade. Adding pre-paid SIM cards into the lot is technically doable although may require some time and effort.
- SIM Registration allows for proper accountability, much like registering a vehicle or a gun. If a SIM card user knows their number can be traced back to their name, they might not make impulsive actions to malign, threaten, scam or defraud other people. One can now easily report and block scammers from using anonymous numbers to do their MO.
- SIM Replaceability. If a certain SIM card number is registered to your name, and it has been stolen or lost, you can easily request the SIM card to be de-activated and get a replacement SIM card (same way you do with postpaid SIM cards nowadays). No more alibis saying you lost your phone or your SIM card has been damaged since you can always get a replacement card for the same number.
Chinese mobile phone users show SIM cards in front of his ID card in Suzhou city, east Chinas Jiangsu province, 22 December 2009. After pushing the real name system for online game users on August 1, China will expand the policy to mobile phone users starting from September 1, local media reported.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), new mobile phone users need to register with their real names from September 1, while old customers also need to submit their information within three years. According to a report from Xinhua, 70 percent of over 700 million mobile subscribers in China are currently using pre-paid cards and thus did not register, making misuse for SMS spam and fraud easy {source: Corbis}.
Of course, this move does not guarantee than it will prevent future incidents like the recent bus bombing. And with over 73 million subscribers in the country, the idea of registering the tens of millions of existing SIM users seems almost impossible.
Aside from the logistical problems, there are other reasons why telcos might not want to go this route:
- The burden of registering existent prepaid SIM card users will most likely be shouldered by the telcos and that effort requires more resources and manpower.
- SIM registration might cripple the existing distribution and sales channels. Re-selling SIM cards will no longer be as easy as buying a can of soda at 7-11.
- It will not look good from a marketing perspective — the subscriber figures (over 73 million) being paraded lately is actually defined as “activated” not “active” users. Once a prepaid SIM card is activated, it is counted as 1 but if that card is lost, damaged, expired or no longer being used it is not deducted from the total count (making the numbers a bit bloated). Bigger numbers are better for marketing. By doing SIM registration, the total count could shrink considerably.
- People can still fake details of their registration. This is where the idea of the “national ID system” comes into play but that’s for another discussion altogether.
SIM registration will not totally prevent occurrences like the bus bombing from happening again. It does make it a little harder though. It’s not fool-proof but it can be an effective deterrent when combined with other security measures.
Sim card registration for new users – yes pwede yan. Sim card registration for existing users – yan ang matrabaho. First of all, ilang sim cards ang pwedeng i-register sa isang tao? Kasi ngayon halos lahat may sim card sa bawat provider. Tapos connected din ang sim card registration sa number portability. Kasi kunwari 1 sim card lang allowed per person, it means na pag prepaid ka at gusto mong mag-postpaid, allowed ng i-port yung number mo.
I’m sure a lot of you have received text messages saying that you won something in their raffle and after you contact them they will tell you to do this and that blah blah blah and then the next thing you know, you’ve been scammed.
What about text messages containing “honey, wala na akong load, last message ko na to loadan mo tong number na to”
How about the one when someone calls you saying that your wife/husband or any member of your family got into an accident and asks for money for operation?
Or when you receive threats (through text) from someone you don’t know (not in your phone book) trying to scare or intimidate you.
Or for girls who have stalkers who keep texting you and creeping you out.
You see, there are many issues regarding the misuse of cellphones (numbers), not only terrorism. This act (SIM registration) won’t only prevent/limit terrorists but also other abusive people. While this is not guaranteed, I’m sure these people would think twice about using their numbers to commit crime.
As for the invasion of privacy thingie, you have a home phone right? then I have a bad news for you, YOUR PRIVACY HAVE ALREADY BEEN INVADED!!>:)
SIM cards of postpaid subscribers are already registered, why would it be difficult to do for prepaid subscribers? Telcos would have to do it, it’s their job. If fake documents were to be used to register, then it would be the telcos’ fault that it happened; mahina ang verification. “Privacy”? Why, does it mean postpaid subscribers are exposed? And why should people be afraid that their SIM will be registered under their names if they don’t intend to do something bad with it? This is an idea whose time has come. And yeah, stop all this crap about us being a third world country. No wonder nothing much happens to us, many of us could not think beyond our present limitations.
@raymond
CCTV on Bus? what if the BUS exploded into pieces?
On our part, di po pwede ang SIM Registration.
The FACT na ginagamit ng SINDIKATO yung mga ROAMING SIMS, they fake identities and informations….What more kung iregister pa ang Regular SIM PACKS..?
Yung anonymity natin sa telco’s as well as to other users is very important…This is very applicable pag dating sa ELOAD/AUTOLOAD anywhere….
You load everywhere, you BROADCAST your NAME EVERYWHERE.
dapat talaga iregister iyan. tel numbers is like your address. dapat traceable kung sino pinaggalingan. if you want privacy eh di wag kang mag cellphone period. gawin na natin. now na!
May kasabihan:
“Prevention is better that cure”
Government should made action how to prevent this incidents/terrorism. Saka na sila aaksyon kapag nangyari na, dami tuloy check-point. Ok sana kung consistent.
I only go for neither, kung invasion of privacy yan o gagamitin sa tapping issue yan, ibang usapan yan, anong nangyari sa issue na RF ID system nang MMDA at LTO.
I actually experienced this buying a sim in india. they have to check your passport and all that before you can get a sim. but i believe in order for this to push through they should settle a law first that would protect the privacy of the users as well. it would be great if upon passing the law to have people register their sim cards, the laws that the telcos should comply with and the guidelines on how the law would be implemented are included accordingly already.
^
Paragraphs dude. They’re your friend.
sa personal kong experience sa sim registration which happened in dubai when i was working there. ok naman siya, you just need to present your passport copy with visa and a letter from your compony. prepaid yun sim ko. about sa authentication ng documents to present, natural lang naman na kailangan may pic ang valid id na gagamitin, kung kailangan 2 or 3 mas mainam, about sa retailing ng prepaid sims, di mo basta mabibili yan sa suking tindahan o sa bangketa o sa mga celfone shops, sa mga business center mismo ng telcos mo bibilin para sa kanila mo na din ipapasa documents for authentication and archiving. kapag naman nawala yun sim mo pwede mo ipadeactivate yun sim mo at magrequest ng panibago sa business center with the same mobile number, magkaiba namna kasi ang imei ng bawat sim but telcons can assign the same number to different sim basta deactivated na yun una mo sim, gaya lang yun ng sim upgrading, for activation of the prepaid sim, you have to wait atleast within 24 hours then pwede mo na gamitin. takot lang ang mga taong ayaw magparegister ng sim kasi may mga kasamaan at kalokohan silang ginagawa, privacy? too much privacy naman ang pinakakaingatan kung kaligtasan mo naman kapalit, wala naman mangyayari sayo kung ibibigay mo yun copy ng id mo for registration para ka lang naman bumili ng psp, celfone, and other things using your credit card na kailangan mo magpresnt ng id. tama na tayo sa makalumang pananaw. kaya napagiiwanan ang mga pinoy, makaluma at ayaw ng mga makabagong paraan na para sa ikakadali ng pamumuhay at sa kaligtasan na din naman nila.
hey hey hey, stop thinking in the way of a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY MENTALITY. Please. The advantages further outweigh the “disadvantages” it’s not about how much money will be used problema na yun ng telcos. Basta registered lahat. It should be an all out effort on all facets of security.
For me, ok ang sim registration. Atleast di ba secured din yung sim card ng mga prepaid user. Maybe they could make the sim card registration voluntary…but then again, maraming hinde naman magregister kasi hassle and everything. Sa opinion ko kasi, most Filipinos are “tamad”. They want life easy as 1-2-3. Take for example sa MRT, lahat nasa pinto, kasi gusto nila makalabas ng madali, even if malayo pa sila. Or the footbridge, ayaw nila doon dumaan kas mataas daw or malayo. Daming rason.
CCTV sa mga raods eh ok din. In my opinion, it will help alot, in securing the people, traffics reduction, etc.
Problem lang daming nagdidisagree sa mga move na ganito dahil violation of privacy ek ek. Eh kung ganun lage mind set ng mga tao, wala talagang pararatingan ang bansang Pinas…they don’t want change, so be it. Live in this very “PEACEFUL” country.
@someone
atleast the police have a lead if mangyari man ito. Makikita kung sino yung last person ang nakaupo doon sa may sumabog na seat. Not like the current na totally no lead sila. And sa opinion ko, the police will make a fall guy ulit para lang mapalabas na may nahuli sila…masabi lang sa mga Pinoy na “You are all safe”.
@astig
malamang hindi sa tindahan yung registration ng sim card.siyempre sa telco business center. same nga sa pag nag-apply ng postpaid e.
@raymond
pag nag install ka ng cctv sa bus, at sumabog, ano pa silbi nun? na prevent mo ba yung bombing?
regarding sa bus incident, dapat maging mas aware yung public sa mga ganyan. pag may suspicious items, ireport agad sa driver.
@astig
obvious naman po na pag inimplement ito eh hindi ka na makakabili ng prepaid sim sa suki mong tindahan.
tama si pareng raymond, universal deterent ang cctv mapa bomba, nakawan, kidnapping, etc. maraming paraan pwede magpasabog ng bomba hindi lang limitado sa cellphone. Mas mabisa yung kita mo sa video kung sino labas pasok sa bus.
kung sa ibang bansa halos lahat naka post paid at naka rehistro hindi maiwasan ang mga masasamang-loob, paano pa kung prepaid sims pa? Goodluck sa 90 million registration ng sim. By the time maka 1 million na registration limot na yung sakunang to, pero kung gagawa kayo ng paraan dapat yung pang long term din.
why not both? install CCTV cameras inside buses and registration of sims
madali lang talaga mag-fake ng documents and yun mga tinderas/retailers wala naman sila pakialam kung totoo yun mga submitted documents ng buyers sa kanila e. kaya it’s not a practical thing to do! And san naman nila i-aarchive yun documents na pinasa di ba?
Installing CCTV cameras in strategic locations and inside each bus will be an easier and more cost-effective way of deterring terrorism than to requiring 90 million Filipinos to register their SIM cards.
And regarding the faking of documents issue, sa umpisa lang naman siguro yun mangyayari. I am sure there will be a time that the telco companies will find a way how to deal with it.