7 Steps to Get ISP Registration in India

Internet Service Providers are now active in India and the world more than ever. There are lot of opportunities in this area and if you want to start your own ISP centre, you need to get the license. In this blog, we have discussed the 7 steps to get ISP registration in India. Once you complete them, you are ready to provide internet access to the modern India.

India is at a stage where the internet has become the new normal. Therefore, there are many telecom companies that are emerging because of the opportunities that can be found. The government is, therefore, more than excited to provide ISP license (Internet Service Provider) to new and emerging telecommunication companies. There is only a single license for all of the telecom-related services, called the Unified License. Under the Unified License, the holders can apply for ISP License in different areas. Therefore, in order to acquire an ISP Registration in India, one must obtain a unified license. As you can already take a hint, you won’t need different ISP Licenses.

While it is possible for a company to hold only a single Unified License, it is also possible for the said company to apply for different areas of ISP areas under this single license. However, when it comes to validity, all the ISP area under the same license would only be valid for the same period. It means that the ISP registration is valid in different areas as long as the Unified license is valid.

Step 1: Applying for ISP registration in India-Checking eligibility

Being an Internet Service Provider is a business and a business needs proper legal infrastructure. Therefore, the first thing that you need to do is register a company under the Companies Act 1956. The process of company registration would eventually lead you to obtain Certificate of Incorporation (COI).

Step 2: Applying for ISP registration in India-Choosing the right category of the license

The next step to apply for and obtain ISP License in India is to find out and know about the ISP category that you require the license under. There are 3 categories of ISP License: A, B and C. The ISP License categories depend upon the areas that you want to run ISP operations. The explanation of the three categories of ISP License is:

1. ISP License Class A: The Class A ISP License covers the entire national area
2. ISP License Class B: The Class B ISP License covers a telecom circle or a metropolitan area
3. ISP License Class C: The Class C ISP License is an ISP registration meant for a Secondary Switching Area.

As you can already take a guess, the Class A ISP License is the most expensive considering it converts the entire structure. The next one that is difficult to obtain is class B and lastly, Class C.   

Step 3: Applying for ISP registration in India-Setting the budget and costing of the ISP

The cost of ISP Registration in India depends upon the class of ISP License you are trying to acquire. However, as there is an emergence of an awareness of internet in rural areas, the government has eased the price of ISP services in Class C. The prices of the licenses are as follows:

* Applying for ISP registration in India: Collect and organize the documents required

The documents requires for ISP registration in India are as follows:

1. Certificate of Incorporation of the Company
2. Memorandum of Association
3. Articles of Association
4. Challan form along with a certified copy of Form-18

There are other documents. However, they are more nuanced and they depend upon the investments done in the ISP. Examples of such documents are Foreign Investment related documents.

Step 4: Applying for ISP registration in India: The initial application process

Following are the three steps of applying for ISP License in India:

1. Once you have decided upon the class of your ISP, your next step is to fill out the application form.
2. File the application and submit it online along with the processing fee of INR 15,000/-. The recipient of the application is the Department of Telecommunication (DOT). The fee has to be paid using a banker’s cheque / DD addressed to the Pay Accounts Officer DOT.
3. Along with the application, make sure to provide all the official documents.  

Step 5: Applying for ISP registration in India: Application review

After the Department of Telecommunication receives the application, it reviews it thoroughly. The application shall be reviewed and the applicant shall be given feedback within 60 days. However, if there are any issues with the application, there can be a bit of delay in feedback.

On the approval of your application, a Letter of Intent is issued to you by the DOT. If the application is not approved, it is going to be delayed, and if you don’t care of the errors that led to its disapproval, the application shall be rejected.

That being said, you can avoid errors if you have access to the business experts that can aid you in the effort of ISP Registration. These experts shall file the application on your behalf and there are no errors.

Step 6: Applying for ISP registration in India: Issue of Letter of Intent

After the DOT issues the Letter of Intent to the applicant of ISP License in India:

1. The applicant needs to submit a one-time fee as specified in the table above. Additionally, they also have to provide a bank guarantee.
2. The applicant needs to submit a signed license agreement with the DOT and other documents that have been mentioned in the letter of Intent.

Step 7: Applying for ISP registration in India: The issuance of the ISP License in India

Once all the required steps are taken care for post receiving the Letter of Intent, the applicant shall be given an ISP Authorization through the Unified License in India. It is valid for up to 20 years. If there are any other issues, you shall be promptly contacted by the DOT.

Conclusion

These are the 7 steps to obtain ISP registration in India. As you can already imagine, the entire procedure is quite legal and complex. Therefore, don’t shy away from asking for help from the business experts. Registrationwala is here to aid you in this matter and shall avail you the ISP License on time.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.