TRAI said it should test the mechanism for KYC-based caller names, consultation will begin in a few months

The telecommunications regulator TRAI will soon begin consultations on creating a mechanism for a KYC-based caller’s name that flashes on phone screens when someone calls, according to a senior official.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has received a recommendation to launch a consultation on the same from the Ministry of Telecommunications (DoT).

Consultation on the issue is expected to begin in a few months, TRAI President PD Vagela said.

“We have just received a report and we will start work on it soon. According to KYC, the name will appear when someone calls, “Vagela said.

TRAI has already thought in similar lines, but now with the specific report from the telecom department, work on this will begin soon.

“The mechanism will allow names to be displayed on the phone screen, in accordance with KYC, carried out by telecommunications companies in accordance with DoT standards,” added Vagela.

This move is becoming more important as the mechanism will help identify callers according to their KYC (Know Your Customer) and will bring greater accuracy and transparency compared to some applications that identify callers based on crowdsourcing data.

Sources said that once the framework for a new KYC-based mechanism is developed, identification will become clearer and more legally sound. This will also have a ripple effect, which will clear the data in the crowdsourcing applications, as there will be KYC connections.

Asked whether the process would remain voluntary, sources said it was too early to discuss modalities, as many aspects would be discussed at the consultation stage.

TRAI has also implemented blockchain technology to reduce the problem of unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) or spam calls and messages.

Experts say a KYC-based caller ID mechanism would protect users from growing spam and fraud.

Meanwhile, in an e-mail statement, a spokesman for the Caller ID application said: “We welcome any and all actions in the mission to make communication safe and effective.” “Identifying the number is crucial to ending the threat of spam and fraudulent calls, and we at Truecaller have worked tirelessly for this important mission for the past 13 years. We appreciate this move by TRAI and we would like to reiterate that we remain very supportive of this and of all future initiatives they have, “the company spokesman added.