NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently released its recommendations on the introduction of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) service, or in simple terms a caller ID feature. After its approval from the Department of Telecommunications, people will be able to see the names of callers on their mobile phones. The name CNAP will display is the same name provided in the customer application form. So, the big question is how will it be different from Truecaller or any other caller ID features. The government says it will display the real name (the name the customer provided to telecom service providers for obtaining the number).
The first thing TRAI stated in its recommendation is that CNAP is not a must-have feature but supplementary. One can only access this feature after making a request to their respective telecom service providers. All service providers must provide the CNAP service to their subscribers upon request. Subscriber entities holding bulk connections and business connections should be provided with the facility to present their ‘preferred name’ instead of the name appearing in the customer application form.
The name identity information provided by telephone subscribers in the application form should be utilised for CNAP purposes. After acceptance of the recommendations, the government should issue appropriate instructions to ensure the CNAP feature is made available in all devices sold in India after a suitable cut-off date. In response to the query regarding the necessity of introducing CNAP supplementary service in Indian telecommunication networks, stakeholders have provided varied perspectives. They said it would facilitate tracing of problematic calls, discourage obscene callers.