Caller ID Boxes

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Caller ID (caller identification or CID, and more properly calling number identification - CNID) is a telephony intelligent network service that transmits the caller's telephone number and in some places the caller's name to the called party's telephone equipment during the ringing signal or when the call is being set up but before the call is answered. Typically, CNID is transmitted digitally using Bell 202 modulation between the first and second rings.

The CID is only the calling party number. In the United States, the calling party name is a separate piece of data and must be requested by the consumer's terminating central office if the consumer has subscribed to that service. Calling name delivery is not automatic. An SS7 (or Signaling System 7) TCAP query must be launched by the called party's central office to retrieve the information for Calling Name delivery to the Caller ID equipment at the consumer's location. Canadian systems automatically send the calling name with the call set up and routing information at the time of the call.

Fully 99 per cent of the names that could be delivered are available to all central offices in the US. Most carriers, however, are now refusing to retrieve the information for delivery, since it may reside in a non-owned database and would require payment to another provider for the data. The local carrier will then claim the name is "unavailable", or "out of area", or default to a "city, state" response. If a consumer pays for Calling Name delivery, and is promised delivery if the data is available, then the cost of retrieving the data should be irrelevant and consumers should complain to their local dial tone provider about the lack of display of names.

Telemarketing organisations want their names displayed, since having a name displayed actually increases the answer rate for calls. To block a name display involves dialing additinal digits which slows outbound calling and costs additional money.

Telemarketing organisations often block the display of their calling numbers. Some states and countries require telemarketers to display a contact number that can accept complaints, as the individual caller numbers may not be able to be called.

Many Internet service providers (ISPs) providing dial-up access require the customer to use CNID to prevent abuse of the account by unauthorised callers.

The device is helpful for tracing down prank calls and telemarketers. The concept behind caller ID is the value of informed consent; however, it also poses problems for personal privacy.

Calling line identification

Caller ID is also known as calling line identification (CLI) when provided via an ISDN connection to a PABX, while in some countries, the terms caller display, calling line identification presentation (CLIP), call capture, or just calling line identity (CLID) are used; call display is the predominant marketing name used in Canada (though customers often call it caller ID). CNID originated with automatic number identification (ANI) in the U.S.

Read more at Wikipedia.org