Telecom users should know the legal name of anyone calling them, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended on Friday. The regulator recommended that Calling Name Presentation (CNAP), where phones display a caller’s identity based on their KYC registration data, be implemented on Indian telecom networks. The recommendation will now be considered by the Department of Telecommunications, which had sought TRAI’s inputs on the matter.
The idea was floated by TRAI in a consultation paper issued last year. The recommendations would allow subscribers to essentially see the name registered for every number that calls them, if they opt in to such a service. TRAI’s recommendations do not include a provision for telecom users to opt out of being identified when they call someone else, merely suggesting that the Department of Telecommunications exclude “witnesses/sensitive persons” pursuant to a court order.