The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a directive to telecom companies to commence trials for Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) services, granting more power to telecom consumers. Accordingtelecom operators received a letter from the DoT instructing them to initiate trials for CNAP. This service will enable telecom consumers to identify the caller, facilitating informed decisions on whether to answer calls, thereby aiding in the prevention of spam calls and fraud on telecom networks.
Additionally, it was specified that customers with bulk connections, such as banks, will be permitted to assign a common name for all connections, which can also be registered under the company name or trademark. However, users will be required to furnish all necessary documents for this purpose. Earlier, on February 23, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) forwarded recommendations to the government for the implementation of CNAP services for users.
In its recommendations, TRAI highlighted that while native third-party applications like Truecaller and Bharat Caller ID may offer caller identification and spam detection features, their reliance on crowd-sourced data may render them unreliable. To address this, TRAI emphasized that telecom operators must establish and maintain a database containing customer names alongside their phone numbers.
What is CNAP (Calling Name Presentation)?
Caller Name Presentation (CNAP) is a service displaying the caller’s name on the phone screen during incoming calls. Although akin to Truecaller, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) suggests that telecom companies offer CNAP only upon customer request.
CNAP enhances the user experience by furnishing additional information about incoming calls, aiding users in determining whether to respond. Moreover, it contributes to mitigating fraudulent calls.
