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How telecom operators will identify callers
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed telecom operators to introduce Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) from November 1. They must roll out the service across their service areas from November 1, 2026.
Every operator has been told to set up, run and maintain a database that links the calling name of its users to their assigned telecom identifiers. With this feature, your phone will essentially show the names of the people calling you if you have not saved their numbers without requiring users to download an app or sign up separately. Here is what the service is, how it works and what it means for you. The name will come from a database kept by the operator like Airtel and Jio on whose network the call starts. The DoT’s instructions apply to all telecom service providers that hold an authorisation or licence to provide access services.
What about data and security with CNAP service
Unsaved domestic number: Users will see the name recorded in the subscriber records of the caller’s telecom operator. Operators may offer businesses and users with bulk connections a separate facility to display a preferred name instead of the name in their subscriber records. The name has to be verified. It must be either a trademark registered in the user’s name with the trade marks registry, under the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry), or a trade name registered on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) portal. The DoT has set safeguards to protect communications and to make sure the service does not affect the quality of telecom services. Operators must follow a security-by-design approach. The system that looks up the name must make sure it is not kept after the incoming call ends.