CNAM Data

CNAM (Calling NAME) displays a caller’s name on a telephony devices’ digital display. It differs from enhanced caller ID as a caller's name displays along with, (or in place of), the caller’s phone number. Enhanced Caller ID can only deliver the name and the phone number of an incoming call. CNAM services are available if a residence or business subscribes to a CNAM service from their telephony provider.

Studies have shown that organizations making outbound calls tend to experience improvements in success rates when their identity is presented to targets with a name and/or phone number. Whether business or residential, unknown callers create uncertainty and in many cases will simply be ignored or experience an immediate hang-up if not identified.

Service providers are the primary resources for delivering identity to called parties via CNAM services. Accuracy and completeness of coverage for names and numbers within the North American dialing plan form the foundation of CNAM. CNAM deployment can be accomplished on a hosted or on-premise basis. LSSiDATA enables both models with unique accuracy and completeness for business, residential and government lists throughout North America.

What to Look For

Vendors of CNAM data may offer "per dip" models that initially appear cost effective. However, actual performance may not match expectations as some vendors may apply charges even when CNAM no matches return "unknown caller". Key points to evaluate include:.

• CNAM data sources – Consider where a CNAM data vendor acquires listings to populate a database. Missing or inaccurate listings potentially resulting from unreliable data sources will add expense when secondary queries to individual carrier data repositories are triggered from missing detail. Also, customer satisfaction will degrade when high rates of “unknown caller” results are returned. Look for vendors that can clearly identify reliable caller data sources.
• Frequency of Updates – Static caller information becomes inaccurate extremely quickly if a vendor does not have the resources to keep caller detail fresh on a massive scale. Look for vendors with technology, established processes and the financial stability to deliver confidence that name and phone number currency is actually a reality.
• Deployment Flexibility – Service providers maintain a diverse customer base. Look for vendors that can offer premise-based CNAM repositories with frequent updates as well as “per-dip” hosted models to match a complete range of requirements.

LSSiDATA CNAM Value

LSSiDATA’s CNAM repository is derived from data sourced from and for major carriers in North America who rely upon LSSiDATA for revenue generating National Directory Assistance service. With more than 2 million updates per day, six days a week, LSSiDATA demonstrates the responsiveness necessary to ensure CNAM data is optimized.

LSSiDATA can provide CNAM information as a hosted or on-premise solution. This completeness of information along with deployment flexibility ensures cost-effective performance for a wide range of carrier requirements.