Swedish caller identification app Truecaller does not see the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) plan to display the number of every caller on screen based on their know your customer (KYC) registered names as a competition to similar services provided by it. The company said its services solve many issues rather than just number identification.

“Based on the information available at present, we do not see that this would be a competitive service comparable to the full range of services and functionality that Truecaller offers to our more than 310 million monthly active users,” Alan Mamedi, Truecaller CEO, said in a statement. “With its technology and data, Truecaller solves many more issues than a basic number identification service,” he said.

“We believe that the proposed Trai development can even be a driving catalyst for our continued growth in India, as more people discover our offerings. During our 13 years, we have seen many players — both private and state-driven — trying to enter this industry, and we are humble in the face of this great challenges it entails to ensure safe and reliable communication for everyone,” Mamedi said.

Truecaller’s statement assumes significance as it is felt that since its data is crowdsourced it lacks authenticity compared to KYC-based data.

FE had reported last week that Trai is working on a mechanism which would would enable callers’ names to flash on the screen. The name would be as per the KYC record of subscribers with telecom operators. Effectively, this means subscribers would get to know the caller’s name even if it is not saved in their phone book.

Truecaller said the proposed Trai initiative is a welcome one aimed at helping in the mission to make communications safer and more secure. “If the service described was to be developed, the assessment is that its implementation would take many years and require a successful collaboration with all major telecom operators,” Truecaller said.

The Truecaller app was launched in 2009 and expanded in the Indian market in 2012.