Government plans to bring mechanism for KYC-based callers’ name display

Trai has recently released its recommendation paper, in which it recommended cutting the base rate of 3.3-3.67 GHz airwaves to Rs 317 crore a unit, from Rs 492 crore a unit.
Poeple make a beeline for e-KYC updation at an Aadhaar centre. (Photo | P Ravindra Babu)
Poeple make a beeline for e-KYC updation at an Aadhaar centre. (Photo | P Ravindra Babu)

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT) is planning to bring a mechanism for display of KYC-based names of callers when someone calls. According to the chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), P D Vaghela, the regulatory body has received a reference to begin consultation on the same from the government and consultation on this is expected to begin in the next few months.

Vaghela said Trai has just received a reference, and it will start working on the matter soon. He further said that the regulator had already been thinking on similar lines, but now with the specific reference from the telecom department, work on this will start soon.‘’The mechanism will enable name-appearing on a phone screen, in accordance with KYC done by telecom companies, as per DoT norms,’’ said Vaghela.

The move by the telecom department will help identify callers as per their KYC (know your customer)
and bring greater accuracy and transparency than some apps that identify callers based on crowdsourcing
data. According to the information, once the framework for the KYC-based new mechanism is worked out, the identity establishment will become clearer and more legally tenable. This is also going to clean-up data on crowdsourcing apps as there will be KYC linkages.

Trai has recently released its recommendation paper, in which it recommended cutting the base rate of 3.3-3.67 GHz airwaves to Rs 317 crore a unit, from Rs 492 crore a unit. It has also reduced the price of the 700 MHz band to Rs 3,927 crore, after failing to bid out in the past two sales due to the high price. However, the telecom industry wants the base price reduced by 90% in order for better services. It has also implemented blockchain technology to curb the problem of unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) or spam calls and messages.

Consultation on the matter to begin soon

Trai Chairman P D Vaghela says has just received a reference, and it will start working on the matter soon. He further said that the regulator had already been thinking on similar lines, but now with the specific reference from DoT, work on this will start soon

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