How does CallerID Name Display work?

The display of CallerID Name information will vary, based on the type of call (inbound vs outbound) and based on the type of company (ILEC vs CLEC vs Reseller).

ILEC = Incumbent local exchange carrier (ie: Bell)
CLEC = Competitive local exchange carrier (ie: Rogers)
RESELLER = A service provider reselling an ILEC or CLEC services.


INBOUND CALLERID NAME
VBuzzer™ will always pass through whatever CallerID Name is provided with the call (from the originating carrier).
  • If no CallerID Name is presented in the call, we will do a lookup in the national CNAM directory*, to see if the number is listed.
    • If listed, we will display the name returned in the lookup.
    • If not listed, we will return the location name, where the number is assigned to (ie: 4166135555 = Toronto, ON)
      In the event of a call from an unlisted mobile number, we send the name as: WIRELESS CALLER
*Unlike most VoIP and CLEC companies, VBuzzer™ performs a CNAM lookup on all inbound calls, where no name is presented with the call.

CNAM = CallerID Name
National CNAM Directory = A shared CallerID Name database (directory), typically populated by ILEC (and some CLEC). VoIP providers rarely submit to the CNAM directory.


OUTBOUND CALLERID NAME
When placing a call, VBuzzer™ passes your fixed CallerID Name with the call being made.  Depending on the carrier being called, they may handle the display of CallerID Name differently.  Name and number display also depends on the plan (features) of the called party (ie: do they subscribe to CallerID Name and/or Number Display... as is a chargeable feature by many provider).

NOTE:  Not all providers offer CallerID Name display.  In these conditions, the name field may have your number, other text (such as Unknown, Private, etc) or may be blank.

The called party provider may also perform their own look-ups, which could result in the name we pass being changed (this is out of our control).

Mobile devices will typically use any matching stored contact as the display, overriding the name being passed with the call (this is out of our control).

Devices (ie: mobile phone) may also have their own look-ups and/or secondary information, such as a location.  A location lookup is different and separate from CallerID, and is typically based on the phone number  (ie: a number starting with 1416613 may show with a location of Canada or North America).