Unknown caller’s name may soon flash on screen with incoming calls in new telecom policy

Highlights

• The Department of Telecommunications will bring a mechanism that would flash the caller’s name as per their KYC documents on the phone’s screen.
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman PD Vaghela that a consultation paper in the regard would be floated soon to get stakeholders’ comments.
• This mechanism will allow customers to avoid spam and unsolicited calls or report them to the authority.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will soon bring out a new feature that would allow a caller’s name to flash on the screen during calls. While this is what Truecaller currently does, the department suggests the name would be as per the know-your-customer (KYC) record of subscribers with the telecom operators. This would be a way to tackle fake calls and will enable users to know the actual identity of the caller before they pick it up.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman PD Vaghela told FE that a consultation paper in the regard would be floated soon to get stakeholders’ comments as the department has received a reference to this effect from the DoT.

Caller name as per KYC

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will bring a new feature that will flash the caller’s name on the screen during calls as per their KYC document registered with the telecom network. “We have just received a reference, and we will start work on this soon. Name as per KYC will appear when someone calls,” TRAI chairman PD Vaghela said.

The chairman has further said that TRAI had been thinking on similar lines before the specific DoT reference. He said the mechanism will enable the caller’s name to appear on the screen in accordance with KYC information collected by telecom companies, as per DoT norms. As said, this will allow subscribers to know the name of a caller even if it is or not saved in their contacts. While Truecaller already does show the caller’s name, the data can be manually changed by the user and is not always 100 percent authentic. This can be solved through KYC data, as per TRAI.

Also Read

Watch: India's first 5G call made by Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Vi Hero Unlimited prepaid plans launched: benefits include weekend data rollover, binge all night, and more

5G launch in India likely delayed following new government rules

An added bonus to this mechanism is that customers be able to avoid spam and unsolicited calls or report them to the authority. Despite multiple attempts, TRAI has not been able to stop advertisement/spam calls effectively. The final decision would be on DoT and not TRAI, which can only send recommendations after consultation with stakeholders.

TRAI’s consultation paper will highlight issues and invite comments from stakeholders. It will subsequently hold open house sessions in major cities, before finalising the recommendations. We can speculate issues regarding privacy may arise during the exercise, but as per officials, there are ways to safeguard this.

The post Unknown caller’s name may soon flash on screen with incoming calls in new telecom policy first appeared on 91mobiles.com.

https://ift.tt/GguD6QV
https://ift.tt/lm4wi6D