Bharti Airtel’s enterprise division has introduced a new communication tool called Business Name Display (BND), designed to help companies display their verified brand name on a customer’s phone screen during outgoing calls. This solution aims to address one of the biggest challenges in today’s communication environment, the increasing mistrust around unknown and spam calls.
The Growing Problem: Spam & Caller Uncertainty
In recent years, consumers have become far more cautious about answering calls from unidentified numbers. With spam calls, fraud attempts, and automated marketing calls on the rise, many people simply avoid picking up unknown numbers altogether. While telecom operators and third-party apps have attempted to manage this through spam detection and caller identification features, these systems sometimes incorrectly flag genuine business calls as spam.
This has created significant friction for enterprises. Banks, healthcare providers, delivery services, e-commerce platforms, and logistics companies rely heavily on voice calls to share urgent updates with customers. When calls go unanswered due to caller uncertainty, customer experience and operational workflows are directly impacted. Airtel observed this customer behavior shift and identified a need for a more transparent, network-level solution.
What “Business Name Display” Does
Airtel’s Business Name Display feature offers an industry-first approach by allowing enterprises to showcase their authenticated brand name directly on a customer’s mobile screen when they make an outgoing call. Unlike third-party caller ID apps, this is built natively into Airtel’s telecom infrastructure. No additional apps, installations, or integrations are needed by the customer, the caller information is displayed automatically.
The service can be activated through Airtel Business’s online platform, where enterprises can register their brand identity and assign it to the numbers used for customer outreach. Once configured, every call made through those numbers will show the business’s verified name instead of an unknown or misleading label.
Strong Pilot Performance
Before launching the solution publicly, Airtel conducted a large-scale pilot test across multiple industries. More than 250 enterprises participated, representing sectors such as banking, retail, healthcare, logistics, insurance, food delivery, and mobility services. Together, these companies used over 1.5 million numbers and placed more than 12.8 million calls within a single month.
The results were overwhelmingly positive. Businesses reported higher call-answer rates and greater customer responsiveness. Customers were more willing to pick up calls when the caller’s identity was clearly visible, especially when the calls involved time-sensitive or essential information. Companies that rely heavily on voice communication, such as courier services, digital commerce brands, and financial institutions, saw marked improvements in the effectiveness of their outreach.
Why This Solution Matters to Enterprises
Airtel’s Business Name Display supports several important goals for modern enterprises:
1. Trust Building
Displaying a verified name helps customers feel more confident about answering calls. In an era where scams are common, clear identification reduces anxiety and encourages faster engagement.
2. Brand Visibility
Every outbound call becomes a branding opportunity. Customers see the company’s name even before they answer, reinforcing recognition and credibility.
3. Better Call Engagement
Since fewer calls are mistaken for spam or flagged incorrectly, businesses experience higher pickup rates. This leads to better operational performance, whether it’s a bank verifying a transaction, a clinic confirming an appointment, or a delivery service providing updates.
4. Fewer Missed Opportunities
When customers decline calls due to mistrust, it often results in delays, confusion, and additional outreach costs. With BND, businesses can ensure their communication efforts are more efficient.
5. Fraud Reduction
Fraudsters often impersonate legitimate companies by calling from similar numbers. A verified identity reduces this risk, helping consumers better distinguish real calls from fraudulent ones.
How Businesses Can Use the Service
Airtel has designed the onboarding process to be simple and accessible. Companies can activate Business Name Display through the Airtel Business portal by submitting basic information such as:
- Brand name to be displayed
- Associated phone numbers
- Verification documents
- Preference settings for outbound calls
Once the setup is complete, Airtel’s network takes care of the rest. The brand name appears automatically on customer devices for all outgoing calls made from registered numbers.
This solution is suitable not only for large enterprises but also for growing businesses and startups that communicate with customers via voice calls. Whether a business handles thousands of daily calls or only a few hundred, having its name visibly displayed enhances professionalism and trust.
Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
Voice calling remains a critical communication channel across various industries. Despite the rise of digital messaging, businesses still rely on calls for:
- Real-time updates
- Delivery coordination
- OTP verification
- Appointment reminders
- Service confirmations
- Emergency alerts
However, the effectiveness of voice calls has been undermined by widespread spam and scam attempts. Many legitimate calls are ignored, forcing businesses to repeat communication attempts or switch to less efficient channels.
Airtel’s Business Name Display provides a timely solution to this challenge by offering clarity, transparency, and reliability at the network level, something not easily achieved through external apps or tools.
A Step Forward in Enterprise Communication
Airtel’s move aligns with a broader global trend in telecom: enhancing caller identity and authentication to improve user trust. By integrating this functionality directly into its network, Airtel is setting a new benchmark for enterprise communication solutions in India.
The early success of the pilot and the positive feedback from participating companies suggests that BND could become a widely adopted standard for businesses that rely on voice interactions. In addition, as digital fraud and impersonation scams continue to rise, solutions like these will play an increasingly important role in protecting both consumers and brands.
Final Outlook
The launch of Business Name Display marks a major shift in how enterprises interact with customers over voice calls. By making caller identity clear and consistent, Airtel is addressing one of the most persistent challenges in customer communication: the hesitation to answer unknown numbers.
This service not only helps improve engagement and trust but also gives brands a new layer of visibility during outreach. As more industries adopt this tool, it has the potential to transform voice-based communication into a far more transparent, reliable, and customer-friendly channel.
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