CNAP service: Now Get Caller’s Verified Name on Your Phone! Government’s New CNAP Service is Launching, Know When You Will Get the Benefit

CNAP service: Mobile users across India will soon be able to see the verified name of incoming callers directly on their phone screens, as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) pushes ahead with plans to launch the Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) service nationwide by March 2026. This move is expected to significantly help in curbing the menace of unwanted and spam calls.

Pilot deployments have already begun in Haryana, with Vodafone Idea starting live tests. Reliance Jio is also preparing to follow suit in the same circle ahead of a broader rollout. Bharti Airtel is part of this early phase as well, with pilots planned across northern circles.

What is the CNAP Service and How Will it Work?

The CNAP service, similar to popular third-party caller ID apps, will be backed by verified telecom KYC data. Its primary objective is to help consumers identify unknown callers, avoid spam, and improve overall call transparency.

A senior DoT official told Moneycontrol, “The internal target is to roll out the caller ID service by December 2025, but in any case, March 31, 2026 will remain the official deadline.”

The next phase of pilots will focus on live interoperability testing. This is to ensure that verified caller names appear correctly even when calls are made between the networks of different operators.

Who Will Be Left Out of This Service?

Despite the rollout, nearly 200 million subscribers on legacy 2G networks will not be able to use the service initially. In a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) last month, the DoT stated that the absence of compatible software patches makes CNAP technically infeasible on circuit-switched 2G networks.

• Jio’s Advantage: As a pure 4G/5G operator, Jio is better positioned for early adoption. The company has built its CNAP solution in-house.
• Airtel and Vi’s Preparation: Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea have partnered with Nokia to deploy the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) platform nationwide. This core technology enables CNAP, spam analytics, and international call filtering.

The service will be activated by default for all users, though subscribers will have the option to disable the feature if they choose. According to officials, “If the service works reliably in 80–90% of cases, we’ll move ahead with wider implementation.”