Understanding CNAP in Telecom

The Digital Government Regulatory Authority TDRA in the UAE has announced requirements related to the new “Calling Name Presentation” or the CNAP feature, and this rule is already implemented in some service providers, but soon, all service providers will implement it, this rule applies to all telecom operators that, in accordance with the current legislation, provide telephony services including the major providers such as Etisalat and Du Telecom.

CNAP In Simple Words

Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) is used in telephone networks to identify the caller’s name and it’s commonly displayed in the Caller ID section whenever receiving a phone call. This can be a username or a company name. The caller’s title can also appear as “Not Available” in some cases.

The caller’s name, or CNAP information, is not transmitted during a call. Instead, the provider is responsible for showcasing the caller’s information to its customer. The provider searches the database using the caller’s phone number to obtain name information to display using the caller ID. If the data is with another operator, then the provider operator must perform the search to get that information.

What’s the Impact of this on your business?

With CNAP, all incoming calls to UAE mobile phones will show the trade license name of the legal entity that is currently owning the phone line. For ZIWO clients, the caller’s name will be shown as “ASWAT FZ LLC” which is the developer of ZIWO platform.

Why CNAP Has Been Implemented?

The appearance of the Caller ID caused suspicion among the users and the public because of the potential security and privacy issues that the caller identification may cause. To avoid getting your number flagged for spam, scam, or another individual or entity “spoofing” your number. Now with CNAP, people can easily identify and block spam calls or SMS received from unknown numbers, many of these calls are unwelcome and annoying such as:

-Robocallers: Automated, prerecorded phone messages

-Spammers: Unwanted callers that may be calling continuously to a large number of recipients; sometimes includes callers to whom you’ve given consent to contact you.

-Fraud calls: An entity likely pretending to be someone they’re not with malicious intent.

How Can I Set up My CNAP?

Currently, it is possible to set up CNAP in the UAE. All ZIWO clients can set up their CNAP through multiple options, for further assistance please contact our support team via this email: support@ziwo.io / Or you can call us via: +971 4 278 9902

Note: Your calling name presentation CNAP should be active within a short period of time after submitting the request.