India’s telecom authority, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), has approved Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), which will show the real caller ID on the recipients’ phones. The move will protect users from scam and spam calls and enhance user security.
As of now, many users rely on third-party apps, mainly Truecaller, to get the caller ID if the incoming contact hasn’t been saved to a name. However, CNAP will pull the real ID from the databases and show the verified name only.
How CNAP works?
The CNAP framework has users submit their personal details in a KYC update when they subscribe to an operator’s service. The operators will need to maintain a Calling Name (CNAM) database for caller ID to work. So, when a user receives a call, the operator fetches the verified name of the dialer and displays it on the recipient’s phone.
The authority sees CNAP as a security enhancement feature. “The measure will allow the called party to make an informed choice about whether to answer the call.” Each telecom operator will be required to create a Calling Name (CNAM) database linking verified subscriber names to their phone numbers.”
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CNAP pilot on, rollout later
India’s telecom authority, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has run pilot tests of CNAP Caller ID on 4G and 5G networks. Vodafone Idea tested it in Haryana, while others will start theirs soon. During the trials, the authority says that it found challenges with software and hardware for its implementation. However, it also maintained that the feature is very much achievable.
No internet is needed for the verified caller ID to show up on the recipients’ phones. Also, the feature works from the telco’s level by default, so there won’t be a need to use a third-party app either.
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The Indian authorities haven’t shared when the CNAP framework will come into implementation for the Caller ID feature. Operators are expected to work on the backend very soon. So, it seems it will be sooner than later, maybe by the end of 2025.