In a move to tackle the growing threat of cyber fraud, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has instructed telecom operators to accelerate trials for the Caller Name Presentation (CNAP) service. This feature, which displays the caller’s name on the recipient’s phone even if the number isn’t saved, is set to be launched nationwide in phases.
CNAP Trials Progressing Across India
Operators have been given a deadline of April 18 to complete inter-operator trials and submit comprehensive reports. Trials are currently underway in Haryana and Maharashtra, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel already completing initial testing. Vodafone Idea (Vi) is expected to kick off its trials this week in Ambala, working alongside Jio and Airtel under the DoT’s supervision.
Service Rollout Limited to 4G and 5G for Now
The CNAP feature will initially be available only to 4G and 5G users. 2G subscribers, however, will not benefit from the service at launch, as older network infrastructure—particularly equipment installed before 2015—is incompatible and would require significant upgrades to support the feature.
Tech Partnerships for CNAP Enablement
To enable CNAP and related capabilities such as spam detection and international call filtering, Airtel and Vi have partnered with for the deployment of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) infrastructure across India. In contrast, Jio, with its all-IP 4G and 5G network, has developed its CNAP solution entirely in-house.
