Overview
- The Department of Telecommunications issued a circular on October 13 directing telecom operators to enable Calling Name Presentation by default across 4G and 5G service areas from November 1, 2026.
- Under CNAP, incoming screens will show two fields: the caller’s number first and then the name saved in contacts or, for unsaved domestic numbers, the name retrieved from the originating operator’s subscriber database; international calls will display “International Call.”
- Originating operators must create, operate and maintain name↔number databases and terminating operators must query those databases in real time to present caller names.
- The order mandates security‑by‑design safeguards that prevent retention of queried names after a call, preserve Calling Line Identification Restriction for privacy, require grievance channels, and require verification of business display names via trademark or GST records.
- The rollout follows TRAI recommendations and recent 4G/5G trials, and while it should reduce reliance on third‑party caller‑ID apps it will not by itself stop spoofing or scams and may face technical and verification challenges during implementation.