What Is CNAM?

July 14, 2022 // Product

CNAM (Caller ID Name) is a telecommunications feature that enables the name registered to the phone number of the calling party to be displayed on the receiving party’s device. In analog networks, the Caller Name can be up to 15 alphanumeric characters, including spaces. Authoritative CNAM data is stored in databases which are accessed by telephone companies using the Signaling System 7 (SS7) protocol.

Because of the way CNAM databases are managed, once a phone number’s caller ID name has been registered (or updated) it may take up to 72 hours to populate across participating telecom providers. CNAM can be set on most Voxology local phone numbers, and it can also be looked up via the Phone Number Information Lookup API.

How It Works

After you purchase an available phone number from Voxology, you can set the CNAM via our Portal (UI) or the API. Once the data has populated across the carrier networks, the CNAM you set on your phone number can be displayed on receiving party devices when they receive a call from your phone number.

While CNAM is often looked up when receiving an incoming call, it can be looked up anytime via our Phone Number Information Lookup API. You simply send us a request with the phone number, and we return the CNAM instantly.

Example Response // CNAM Lookup

{
  "country_code": "US",
  "phone_number": "+19495551212",
  "phone_number_formatted": "(949) 555-1212",
  "cnam": {
    "caller_name": "JOHN DOE"
  }
}

Why You Need It

CNAM is an old school data field that can help you provide a minimum level of data integrity and security. In a world of increased transparency and regulation (see STIR/SHAKEN), being able to identify and verify names connected to phone numbers is a simple, but critical feature to add to your business.