General Information - Caller ID (CNAM)

How CNAM works 

When you call someone, your number will be transmitted with your call to the receiving party’s telephone company. If the person you are calling has caller-ID service, they will see your name and number

In the USA, the calling number is sent with the call.  The called parties' carrier looks the name up using the number, hopefully from the national database,  but they could use another database of their choice.  Other countries have different methods for delivering the name or none at all. In the USA CallTower can set the Caller *Name* in the national database for the customer. 

Why your CNAM name may not be displayed properly 

For most phone carriers, there’s a cost associated with either querying a 3rd party CNAM database or keeping their own CNAM database up to date. Some telephone carriers have almost immediate access to the most up-to-date CNAM information, while others may not have access to this information for several months or longer.

Matters are further complicated, with carriers having more than 20 different CNAM databases that do not all have the same data. Depending on the location and terminating carrier, certain people you call may correctly see your CNAM, while others may not.

CNAM Guidelines

•  At least two letters in the calling name field 

•  No special characters     

•  Cannot be all numbers

•  Must not exceed a maximum of 15 characters

Updating CNAM

If you desire to update the CNAM for your numbers, reach out to support@calltower.com with the below template. 

Update CNAM Template

Customer Name:
Location Address:
Numbers:
New CNAM:
Other Information:

NOTE: CNAM is limited to 15 characters including spaces. Special characters cannot be used.