Call detail record and Details (CDR) Meaning What?

What is Call detail record (CDR) ?

call detail record (CDR) is a data record produced by a telephone exchange or other telecommunications equipment that documents the details of a telephone call or other telecommunications transaction (e.g., text message) that passes through that facility or device. 

Call detail records (CDRs) capture information on calls made on telephone systems, including who made the call (name and number), who was called (name if available, and number), the date and time the call was made, the duration of the call, and typically dozens of usage and diagnostic information elements (for example, features used and reason for call termination). CDRs are collected on a regular basis for processing into usage, capacity, performance and diagnostic reports. With such information, it is easier to spot exceptions to regular calling patterns, such as out-of-hours calling, international calls, significant variances from previous reporting periods and call destinations that do not reflect normal calling patterns for the enterprise.

The record contains various attributes of the call, such as time, duration, completion status, source number, and destination number.[1]

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Call detail record analysis

What is CDR Contents ?


A call detail record contains data fields that describe a specific instance of a telecommunication transaction. In actual modern practice, call detail records are much more detailed, and contain attributes such as:

  • the phone number of the subscriber originating the call (calling party, A-party)
  • the phone number receiving the call (called party, B-party)
  • the starting time of the call (date and time)
  • the call duration
  • the billing phone number that is charged for the call
  • the identification of the telephone exchange or equipment writing the record
  • a unique sequence number identifying the record
  • additional digits on the called number used to route or charge the call
  • the disposition or the results of the call, indicating, for example, whether or not the call was connected
  • the route by which the call entered the exchange
  • the route by which the call left the exchange
  • call type (voice, SMS, etc.)
  • voice call type ( call setup, call continue, call operation, call end, call idle, call busy, out of service call)

any fault condition encountered

For Example below there is CDR but data is anonymized for including personal information.

Call detail record example
CDR (Call Detail Records)

In here;

Number column means the number which whole data depends, (A-Party),

Type column means the action between number (A-Party) and other number (B-Party),

Other Number column means the number which affected by number, (B-Party),

Date column shows the start date of communication between A and B Party,

Duration consists the duration of this communication,

Name & Surname informations consists of B-Party number registrar,

IMEI column is the unique number of the phone which used with number (A-Party)

Base (Number) column is the base station address of the number (A-Party) connected at that time while the communication starts.

When CDR Uses?

Call detail records serve a variety of functions.

 For telephone service providers, they are critical to the production of revenue, in that they provide the basis for the generation of telephone bills.

For law enforcement, call detail records provide a wealth of information that can

help to identify suspects, in that they can reveal details as to an individual’s relationships with associates, communication and behavior patterns, and even location data that can establish the whereabouts of an individual during the entirety of the call.


Call detail record

Why are CDRs important?

A CDR log lists every billable communications transmission on your phone system. This allows phone companies to generate your phone bills, and lets you keep definite records of how and when your phone system was used. They are primarily used by businesses to assist in call reporting and billing.

Billing departments use CDRs to resolve disputes, keep records of how funding is spent, and log usage of the telephone system. IT departments can also use CDRs to determine if there were any disruptions in phone service.

CDRs can be used to identify calling trends and gain insights into employees’ use of phones. This allows a business to make better management and personnel decisions by analyzing patterns and trends.[2]

Are there any missing data in CDRs?

Communications transmissions that do not cost money are generally kept off the CDR. Many Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services offer free SIP-to-SIP calling. This is when a VoIP phone calls another VoIP phone without ever going through the public switch telephone network (PSTN).

These calls are not listed on the CDR, because they’re not billed. However, calls made to landlines, mobile phones, and international numbers are always logged, because they’re charged on a per minute basis.


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