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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Verizon / April 2004Why no names on Verizon caller ID?
I have Verizon Wireless in Oakland, California. My phone is a Motorola V60c. When I receive a call that has caller ID on my cellphone, I only see the calling number, not the subscriber's name. And when I use my cellphone to call any number (either cellular or landline), the called party only sees my phone number, not my name. (I'm not considering a common cellphone feature that matches the caller's number with the caller's name as stored in the phone's address book and displays the stored name. This feature is useless to me because [1] I have my regular callers' numbers memorized, and [2] I want names for callers who aren't in my address book.) Verizon concedes that it doesn't provide names for caller ID, but customer service doesn't know why this is so. For calls made to Verizon cell phones, the reason for stripping the names from caller ID might originally have been that cell phone displays were too small to display both the name and the number, so Verizon chose to suppress the name. For calls made from Verizon cell phones to landline phones that have caller ID, I can't think of any good reason to suppress the name. Do all of the cellular carriers block names for caller ID? Why did Verizon set up their system to suppress names? Now that cell phones have screens large enough to display both numbers and names for caller ID, why doesn't Verizon trasmit both? Thanks in advance. ********** 1366294709 I asked verizon wireless about this and they never answers. I asked regular verizon about this and they said something like most cell phone companies don't send this information because the market is competitive. I know when my brother calls my house with his T-Mobile cell phone, all his info pops up. When I use my verizon cell phone to call my house phone (also verizon) then my number just shows up, no other info. > I have Verizon Wireless in Oakland, California. > My phone is a Motorola V60c. [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > ********** > 1366294709 I always thought it was a programming responsibility on the user's part. If a stranger calls me, only their number shows. However, if someone calls me whose name and phone number are already programmed in my address book, then my screen shows whatever name I entered in the book as being associated with that number. > I asked verizon wireless about this and they never answers. I asked regular > verizon about this and they said something like most cell phone companies [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > ********** > > 1366294709 Previously on alt.cellular.verizon, "Michael" <mpmorgan(no spam)@adelphia.net> said: ; I always thought it was a programming responsibility on the user's part. If ; a stranger calls me, only their number shows. However, if someone calls me ; whose name and phone number are already programmed in my address book, then ; my screen shows whatever name I entered in the book as being associated with ; that number. The OP specified just that: When a "stranger" calls, they are, by definition, not in the user's address book. When this happens on a landline, you still get the caller's info. When this happens on a cellphone, you only get the number.  SignatureJeffrey Kaplan <*> www.gordol.org The from userid is killfiled <*> Send personal mail to gordol "One of the best ways of enslaving a people is to keep them from education. The second way of enslaving a people is to suppress the sources of information, not only by burning books but by controlling all the other ways in which ideas are transmitted." - Anna Eleanor Roosevelt >I have Verizon Wireless in Oakland, California. > My phone is a Motorola V60c. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > the called party only sees my phone number, not my > name. This doesn't really answer your question but.. If that feature is important to you as it is to me, you might want to consider some Address Book software that is compatible with your phone. In my case I still have my trusty Audiovox 9500. I can use Quick Link Mobile Address Book or DataPilot by Susteen. I simply save all my contacts in the appropriate address book and then write the entries back to my phone. It's very quick and simple. The end result is you are Mark: When you call my cellular phone the digital display on the phone says "Mark." I do encounter situations where the software will at times, crop or shorten the last name if it's particularly long. ( Can't recall what the field character limit is) But you can experiment with this. It's a solution that has worked well for me. Best, B I also find this annoying. When T-Mobile callers call, I can tell who they are. When Verizon wireless callers call, all I see is "Virginia" and the number. This is especially annoying when Verizon Wireless callers call my landline, since I get a bazillion calls from one-time or seldom-time callers. I can only fit so many numbers into my telephone's directory. It's now full. If it can display "Virginia", I see no reason it can't as easily display something more useful. Verizon needs to get off the stick and implement true caller ID so that it's more useful. > I have Verizon Wireless in Oakland, California. > My phone is a Motorola V60c. > > When I receive a call that has caller ID on my > cellphone, I only see the calling number, not > the subscriber's name. > I also find this annoying. When T-Mobile callers call, I can tell who they > are. When Verizon wireless callers call, all I see is "Virginia" and the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > something more useful. Verizon needs to get off the stick and implement true > caller ID so that it's more useful. They were sending the name on the account in my market about 1~2 years ago. That can lead to some interesting problems if you have multiple phones on your account. My friend "Bob Smith" has a small business with 5 phones on his account. There were a lot of questions about why "Bob Smith" was on the caller ID. > I also find this annoying. When T-Mobile callers call, I can tell who they > are. When Verizon wireless callers call, all I see is "Virginia" and the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > something more useful. Verizon needs to get off the stick and implement true > caller ID so that it's more useful. You're talking about landline. Mark was talking about cellular, and there is no cellular service that passes the name as well as the number to the cell phone. Additionally, the name lookups on calls to landline require agreements between the carriers and incur costs, and I'm thinking that a lot of the landline companies don't want to pay the money to the cell carriers (or other landline carriers!) for dips into the database to get the name. SignatureJustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 He was also talking about cell to landline - I have noticed it too - a vzw call to landline shows the number, where for example a Sprint PCS to landline shows the name of the subscriber and number. I don't remember for sure, but I think that T-Mobile calls to my landline also show the name of the subscriber. > You're talking about landline. Mark was talking about cellular, and there > is no cellular service that passes the name as well as the number to the > cell phone. Additionally, the name lookups on calls to landline require > agreements between the carriers and incur costs, and I'm thinking that a lot of > the landline companies don't want to pay the money to the cell carriers (or > other landline carriers!) for dips into the database to get the name. That is not correct. T-Mobile passes both name and number, to cell phones and to landlines alike. Two of my T-Mobile friends decided not to switch to Verizon Wireless for this very reason. > You're talking about landline. Mark was talking about cellular, and there > is no cellular service that passes the name as well as the number to the > cell phone. > That is not correct. T-Mobile passes both name and number, to cell phones > and to landlines alike. I don't recall that happening on my brother's T-Mobile phone when he carried one. Maybe it's been changed. They would need to have agreements with all of the other landline and cellular carriers that allow T-Mobile to do a database query to get the subscriber name, and the other telcos would charge, so if you are in fact correct, I'd find it very surprising, especially due to the fact that T-Mobile is one of the least expensive carriers in the USA and the aforementioned agreements would cut into their profits. But if you're right, you're right. :) My brother doesn't carry a T-Mobile phone these days, having switched to ATTWS. And I won't use T-Mobile here because they use Cingular's infrastructure in California, and Cingular is part owned by SBC and I will never do business with SBC. So I will have to defer to your superior knowledge of the subject. :) > Two of my T-Mobile friends decided not to switch to Verizon Wireless for > this very reason. Why were they considering switching in the first place? If that's one of their primary criteria for switching or not switching, their priorities are messed up (in my personal opinion, stuff like coverage is more important). SignatureJustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 > When I receive a call that has caller ID on my > cellphone, I only see the calling number, not > the subscriber's name. And when I use my cellphone > to call any number (either cellular or landline), > the called party only sees my phone number, not my > name. > For calls made to Verizon cell phones, the > reason for stripping the names from caller ID might > originally have been that cell phone displays were > too small to display both the name and the number, > so Verizon chose to suppress the name. If names were originally suppressed intentionally, then it would require effort and expense to remove the suppression. If VZW doesn't believe that their failure to provide names on CallerID is costing them customers (and therefore MONEY), I can't see why they would go to any expense to change it. That's not to say I wouldn't appreciate the change, I just don't expect it. > For calls made from Verizon cell phones to landline > phones that have caller ID, I can't think of any good > reason to suppress the name. They're probably not suppressing the name. To provide the name, it would have to be programmed into their system (probably separate from the billing system). Again, this would require effort and expense, and I can't see them doing this either unless they perceive that it's costing them customers. Here in NJ, the name that appears with calls from VZW cell phones to landline phones is "NEW JERSEY". I think Cingular shows up as "Wireless Caller". Your address book has to be setup with the name and the full 10 digit phone number for the caller id to show the caller's name. If the caller is not in your address book, you'll get the calling phone number or restricted. >I have Verizon Wireless in Oakland, California. >My phone is a Motorola V60c. [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] >********** >1366294709 Previously on alt.cellular.verizon, ja said: ; Your address book has to be setup with the name and the full 10 digit ; phone number for the caller id to show the caller's name. If the ; caller is not in your address book, you'll get the calling phone ; number or restricted. The "what" is not being questioned. The question being asked is "why is it that way?" SignatureJeffrey Kaplan <*> www.gordol.org The from userid is killfiled <*> Send personal mail to gordol "Kid, at the end of a wormhole jump you're either in the right place or you're a bucket of quarks smeared between Antares and Oz." (Meyhew [Lois McMaster Bujold, "The Warriors Apprentice"]) > The "what" is not being questioned. The question being asked is "why > is it that way?" I think my answer was pretty accurate - Verizon would have to ink an agreement with each landline and cell carrier to allow them to hit the databases that map numbers to subscriber names, and the other carriers would want money for each dip into the database. It would cost a large amount of money, given the number of phone calls VZW must process each day. Of course, this is only speculation, but I think it's accurate speculation. :) SignatureJustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 Apparently Verizon and T-Mobile have such an agreement, as do Verizon and Cingular. Interesting that Verizon and Verizon Wireless do not. > I think my answer was pretty accurate - Verizon would have to ink an agreement > with each landline and cell carrier to allow them to hit the databases that [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Of course, this is only speculation, but I think it's accurate speculation. > Apparently Verizon and T-Mobile have such an agreement, as do Verizon and > Cingular. Interesting that Verizon and Verizon Wireless do not. Yup. And SBC and Sprint PCS also had such an agreement so that Sprint cell subscribers' names showed up on SBC landline caller ID, but that ended when they got into a fight about compensation for the database dips... I really oughtta try calling my Verizon landline here from my VZW phone. But I'd have to hook up my Caller ID box first... no clue where I put it :) SignatureJustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/ "someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003 >I really oughtta try calling my Verizon landline here from my VZW phone. >But I'd have to hook up my Caller ID box first... no clue where I put it :) When I was in Southwest VA, just over a year ago, my calls on my VZW phone to my Verizon landline did not pass the name...I believe it may have said "VIRGINIA CALL". Mike >> I really oughtta try calling my Verizon landline here from my VZW >> phone. But I'd have to hook up my Caller ID box first... no clue [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Mike I called Verizon today and was told that they don't send the name along with the phone number for caller ID. >> Apparently Verizon and T-Mobile have such an agreement, as do Verizon and >> Cingular. Interesting that Verizon and Verizon Wireless do not. > >Yup. And SBC and Sprint PCS also had such an agreement so that Sprint cell >subscribers' names showed up on SBC landline caller ID, but that ended when >they got into a fight about compensation for the database dips... A bit of detail here... In the landline network, the caller-id number info comes along with the rest of the call setup info, but the name is NOT included. The end switch has to make a separate database "dip" in the caller's database to map the number to a name in order to send it to the called phone, and contracts specifying the cost/dip have to be in place. For whatever reason, most wireless providers don't provide that database to the landline carrier. In the "old days", wireless providers had a much more primitive connection to the landline system (sort of like a super PBX rather than a peer phone company), but that excuse doesn't apply anymore. Similar contracts would have to be in place for landline->wireless calls, but I am not sure if the protocol to the wireless phone supports caller id name. Another twist is that I remember a while (year or two?) ago that included with my vzw bill was a note that said that starting soon, subscriber info would sent along with the number. For whatever reason that never materialized. > >> Apparently Verizon and T-Mobile have such an agreement, as do Verizon and > >> Cingular. Interesting that Verizon and Verizon Wireless do not. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > but I am not sure if the protocol to the wireless phone supports caller > id name. >Your address book has to be setup with the name and the full 10 digit >phone number for the caller id to show the caller's name. If the >caller is not in your address book, you'll get the calling phone >number or restricted. This is completely accurate. It also completely ignores the OP's question, as stated in this paragraph: >>(I'm not considering a common cellphone feature that >>matches the caller's number with the caller's name [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >>memorized, and [2] I want names for callers who >>aren't in my address book.) You're not the only person who replied in this thread who has a reading comprehension problem, but you were the last one, so you're the one I picked on. SignatureDavid Streeter, "an internet god" -- Dave Barry http://home.att.net/~dwstreeter Remove the naughty bit from my address to reply Expect a train on ANY track at ANY time. "When more and more people are thrown out of work, unemployment results." - Calvin Coolidge |
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