Jio, Airtel, and Vi All Strongly Oppose Showing Caller ID: Here's Why

Telecoms say the mandated Caller ID function may risk users' privacy.

Jio, Airtel, and Vi (Vodafone-Idea) have joined forces to fight the Indian Government's plan to show caller ID when a customer gets a call. The telecoms argue that obligatory caller ID will jeopardise consumers' privacy. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which includes Airtel, Jio, and Vi, has proposed that the recommended Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) be made available to telecom providers as a free-will implementation.

Are apps like Truecaller needed?

COIA's opposition came almost two months after TRAI issued its consultation paper titled "Introduction of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) in Telecommunication Networks." The document wants responses from telecom providers on the idea of implementing caller ID, which would eliminate the need for applications like Truecaller. The concept arose from the TRAI's desire to protect India's 114.55 crore wireless and 2.65 crore wireline users against robocalls, spam calls, and fraudulent calls.

Here are the reasons why telecoms are opposed to caller ID

According to PTI, the COAI has unanimously rejected the Government's request to mandate the suggested CNAP. Telcos in COAI have decided to use the CNAP at their discretion, with telecom operators free to offer the service. According to reports, Jio reacted to TRAI's consultation paper by noting, "CNAP or Caller ID features are beneficial to have supplemental VAS service." The telecom also noted technical constraints such as higher signalling load and the potential impact on latency and interconnection-related difficulties. Jio further says that most of the country's population still relies on outdated technologies such as 2G, 3G, landlines, and feature phones, none of which can handle CNAP.

Will the privacy of the consumers get jeopardised?

ET referenced Vi's response on the topic and echoed Jio's rationale. Vi further stated that because the CNAP is an LTE technology, it cannot be used on technology that predates the 4G standard. Airtel had a similar response. Jio also expressed worries about privacy, which will be jeopardised if the CNAP is mandatory. The firms also believe that mandating such a feature is problematic and should be avoided.