SUMMARY
- TRAI is facing technological setbacks and delays in implementing a plan that requires incoming callers to see the name of the person calling.
- Top officials from mobile phone and handset companies have confirmed that making this service available across the country would be very difficult because a large number of people still use 2G/3G networks.
- This follows when TRAI released a consultation paper on “Revision of National Numbering,” earlier this year.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is facing technological setbacks and delays in implementing a plan that requires incoming callers to see the name of the person calling.
According to an ET report, the telecom firms were directed by the authority in February to include a service that shows the name of the caller on mobile phones, aiming to reduce spam and scam calls.
Top officials from mobile phone and handset companies have confirmed that making this service available across the country would be very difficult. This is because a large number of people still use 2G/3G networks, as reported. Additionally, it would require a lot of money to upgrade the network.
The article also mentions that the service would not be available to around 270-300 million people who use 2G phones. Furthermore, it is expected that only smartphones introduced after 2021 will support the CNAP feature.
The report cited, “Trials are on, but the regulator has been apprised that CNAP will only work on IP-based networks whereas the older circuit switched (CS) mobile networks are not evolved enough to support it. So in no way will this help entirely curb spam calls or fraud, but will instead be a drain on telco resources as significant costs would need to be incurred towards servers/separate storage of customer data specifically for CNAP.”
Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), was quoted saying, “A major challenge in implementing the CNAP functionality is that feature phones, as in 2G devices, cannot support it. While 4G/5G smartphones will be able to support it, it’s likely to require software updates. This makes it virtually impossible for telecom operators to offer the CNAP facility to all mobile users.”
The CNAP service could significantly degrade the call quality for a mobile user because establishing a call would require a much longer time. The reason is that the telecom company initiating the call must retrieve the subscriber information from the telco’s network where the call ends to provide the caller with the option to see the caller’s identity. This procedure is expected to be complicated and not very efficient.
Trying to tackle unwanted marketing messages and annoying calls, TRAI issued guidelines in November 2023, asking companies to ask for user permission before sending marketing messages.
This follows when TRAI released a consultation paper on “Revision of National Numbering” earlier this year. The paper sparked controversy as media reports suggested that the telecom authority was considering charging for mobile numbers, also known as telecom identifiers (TI).
