Overview: Setting up Caller ID

This article explains the basics of setting up Caller ID on your Avaya.cx account.

Overview

Caller ID is a technology that displays the phone number of the person calling on the recipient’s phone screen. Caller ID was first introduced in landline telephones. As the technology has advanced, industry regulations have struggled to keep up.

• It typically takes 3-5 days for CNAM to propagate in downstream databases.

• Caller names have a 15 character limit (including spaces).

• Toll Free does not support Caller ID because Toll Free calls were only intended for inbound dialing.

• Mobile operators aren’t required to display caller ID as there’s no industry regulations requiring them to do so.

• Caller ID industry guidelines only apply to landlines, leaving lots of room for errors and inconsistencies.

• Caller ID is best effort and not guaranteed at this time.

Continue reading the sections below to learn more.

Inbound Caller ID

Inbound Caller ID provides the caller information when receiving a call..

Displaying the Caller ID happens per call via a “dip” into a Line Information Database (LIDB). The way that a Caller ID is displayed can vary depending on the type of device receiving the phone call.

• Traditional landlines: Landlines have industry guidelines that regulate how the LIDB is maintained and how the CNAM has to be updated and managed.

• VoIP: Uses the SIP protocol. Call-ID SIP Header carries the caller ID information for the inbound caller to receive. This primarily only works between two VoIP numbers. 

• Mobile: Wireless carriers house their own caller ID information. There’s no industry standard for how it has to be displayed.

FAQ

Why are my calls showing up as SPAM?

This can happen for several reasons. Some of those reasons are as follows:

• Consumers have complained to their carrier about receiving calls from the calling number. This will flag the number as SPAM.

• Carriers information-share bad actors. Carriers have their own caller name databases.

• A new number can sometimes be recycled. Meaning it used to belong to another person or business and the information on the number was not properly cleared out in all the downstream databases.

Remember that a SPAM tag trumps Calling Name every time. The system will update your Caller Name. However, any downstream issues are best effort.

What do I do if my calls are showing up as SPAM on Caller ID?

You will need to remediate your numbers. Please send an email to lnp@avaya.cx. 

Why is Caller ID not supported on Toll Free numbers?

Since Toll Free numbers were originally intended to receive inbound calls only, there are no industry regulations outlining the processes for updating, maintaining and displaying caller name for Toll Free numbers. 

Can I update the Caller Name for a Toll Free Number?

We can update the Calling Name on a Toll Free Number but we cannot troubleshoot any issues with how the caller ID is displayed downstream because there are no guidelines to hold other carriers accountable to. However, we can assist with the remediation of SPAM tagging.

Why are mobile operators not required to display caller ID?

Similar to Toll Free, there are no industry regulations outlining the processes for maintaining and displaying the caller name on inbound calls. Mobile operators often house their own databases with caller ID information, resulting in stale data and inconsistent SPAM tagging.