The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed telecom operators to expedite trials for the implementation of the Caller Name Presentation (CNAP) service, in a move aimed at curbing the rising incidents of cyber fraud. The feature, which displays the caller’s name on recipients’ phones—even if the number is not saved—will be rolled out nationwide in a phased manner, sources told Moneycontrol.
Telecom operators have been asked to complete inter-operator CNAP trials and submit a detailed report by April 18. Currently, trials are underway in Haryana and Maharashtra, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel having concluded their initial testing. Vodafone Idea (Vi) is expected to begin trials this week in Ambala, in coordination with Jio and Airtel, under the DoT’s supervision.
Limited Access for 2G Users
The service will initially be available to 4G and 5G users. However, 2G subscribers will have to wait, as legacy network infrastructure—particularly equipment installed before 2015—lacks compatibility with CNAP and requires substantial investment to upgrade.
According to the report, Airtel and Vi have partnered with Nokia for pan-India deployment of the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), which enables CNAP and related analytics such as spam detection and international long-distance (ILD) filtering. Meanwhile, Jio has developed its CNAP technology in-house, benefiting from its all-4G and 5G network.
“Telcos have taken solutions from players like Nokia, including analytics for spam, CNAP and ILD. It is a combined solution, which is live on both Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s networks,” a person familiar with the matter was quoted as saying in the report.
However, the older network equipment of Airtel and Vi poses challenges. “Both telcos can’t instantly deploy CNAP for all subscribers in India, as it will be available to 4G and 5G users in India to begin with. For 2G, they are waiting for the direction from the DoT as it requires a technology change at the network level, which requires a bigger investment,” another executive was quoted as saying.
Both Airtel and Vi have raised concerns with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the DoT, citing limitations of their legacy 2G switches—installed before 2015-16—that cannot support the new technology. Due to these hardware and software limitations, the service will not be available to 2G feature phone users.
“Both older telcos are taking different approaches due to different network strategies and combinations of the country’s 2G, 4G and 5G subscriber base. Vi has a bigger 2G subscriber base in India,” the second person added, as per the report.
Industry officials also highlighted that the full-scale rollout of CNAP will depend on a government-mandated framework for sharing caller databases among telecom operators, which is yet to be finalised.
According to the report, the government views CNAP as a crucial tool in combating phone-based scams, particularly those involving impersonation of officials and enterprises. Officials believe the feature will empower users by providing greater visibility into unknown callers’ identities.
In February, TRAI urged the DoT to fast-track CNAP deployment, especially for enterprises using bulk SIMs—a known vector for spam and scam calls. The ongoing trials were initiated following TRAI’s recommendation to first test the feature in a single Licensed Service Area (LSA) across networks before nationwide implementation.
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