Indian Telecom Companies Start Caller ID Display Trials To Mitigate Spam Menace: Report

In the world of telephonic conversations, one of the biggest and most troubling aspects of the whole exercise for customers emerges from the threat of fraud and spam. Spammers intruding into your piece with unsolicited calls to charlatans misusing the medium to commit fraud—the potholes of instability on call are myriad.

Caller ID Trials In Some States

In a development that could possibly mitigate this issue by a bit, telecom companies in the country, according to an Economic Times report, are conducting a trial by displaying caller IDs of individuals calling you.

According to reports, this step was taken by Indian telecom companies after pressure from the regulatory body, TRAI, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. These trials are currently being conducted in limited capacity, with exercises being carried out in Harayana and Maharashtra.

This is a crucial development, given the rise in the number of cyber crimes, particularly those stemming from telephonic exchanges, that lead to the disclosure of sensitive information, resulting in financial loss.

The CNAP Solution

In addition, spam calls often cause significant vexation for users. Therefore, in order to curb the proliferation of this medium, the concept of CNAP (Calling Name Presentation) has been touted as one of the solutions that could bring about a change in the system.

This, according to the telecom companies themselves, will require significant investments and a reorientation of services.

According to a Moneycontrol report, another major stakeholder in the business, Truecaller, has also responded to this new development and said that the CNAP service will complement the company's existing caller ID application service. And, in addition, this 'will not adversely affect its business'.

The telcom business in India has a market size of USD 48.61 billion, in fact, this large market is expected to grow beyond USD 76 billion in just the next 5-years. This market today is largely controlled by three private players, namely Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, along with two state-owned players, BSNL and MTNL.