The way of making calls will change starting November 1st; 4G and 5G users will benefit..

A major change is set to take place across the country starting tomorrow, November 1, 2026. For incoming calls from unknown numbers, the caller's name—not just their phone number—will now be displayed. The government has directed telecom companies to implement the 'Calling Name Presentation' (CNAP) service. This will make it easier to identify incoming calls and help protect users against spam or fraudulent calls.

This service will be enabled by default on 4G and 5G networks, meaning users will not need to take any additional action. It will not be available on older 2G and 3G networks for now; a decision regarding those will be made later. This system will serve as an alternative to third-party apps like Truecaller, operating natively within the phone itself.

How will CNAP work?

When a call is received, two pieces of information will appear on the screen: the caller's number and their name. If the number is already saved in your contact list, the saved name will be displayed.

If the number is not saved, the system will retrieve the caller's registered name from the telecom company's database and display it. For calls originating from abroad, the label 'International Call' will be shown. Each telecom company is required to maintain a secure database of its customers' names and numbers. When a call comes in, the receiving telecom operator will fetch the name from this database and display it on your phone. Privacy has been given special consideration; the name information will not be stored anywhere once the call ends. Furthermore, individuals who choose to hide their identity by enabling the 'Calling Line Identity Restriction' (CLIR) feature will not have their names displayed.

Businesses and users with bulk connections can choose to display a preferred name, provided it is a registered trademark or a name registered on the GST portal. The telecom company will grant permission only after verifying the relevant documentation.

This decision follows recommendations from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and trials conducted over the past few months. Initially, TRAI had suggested that users should manually enable the service, but it was later decided to make it a default feature. This rule comes into effect starting tomorrow.

What are the benefits?
It will be of great benefit to the general public. People will no longer hesitate to answer calls from unknown numbers, as the caller's name will be displayed. The likelihood of fraudulent calls will also decrease, since the name will be visible. While there might be some initial glitches, the system will improve over time.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from News18 Hindi. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.