Home » ISP License: Internet Service Provider categories in India
ISP Licene

ISP License: Internet Service Provider categories in India

by registrationwala

An Internet Service Provider or ISP is a registered company under the Companies Act of 2013 that provides Internet Services to its service subscribers. A registered ISP buys internet bandwidth from certain telecom companies and provides internet access to its clients. To operate as an ISP in India, the company must procure the necessary Internet Service Provider license from the Department of Telecommunications. The license so issued is formally known as the Unified ISP License. But there are different categories of ISP licenses available in India. Each of them differs in its coverage area and registration cost. Therefore, the ISP applicant has to pay a different amount for different categories of Internet Service Provider Licenses in India.

Also Read: How to start ISP business in india

Types of ISP Licenses in India

Suppose one approaches a DoT consultant or apply for and know the procedure of getting an ISP license in India. Then, they must be clear on the kind of ISP license they want to procure for their business.

The Internet Service Provider licenses differ on the size of the area in which the applicant wants to provide the internet services.

Broadly speaking, the DoT has categorized the Internet Service Providers into three types depending on the size of their coverage area. Each license category we have discussed in this article also gives you an insight into the respective license prices.

Category A ISP License

  • The Class A Internet Service Provider License provides internet coverage over the entire nation. Therefore, the telecom infrastructure can be utilized to cover a large geographical area.
  • There are very few class A license holders in India because the License fee is very high.
  • But getting a category-A License can be lucrative if one can manage such a monetary requirement.
  • So, if you have ample funding, and are willing to move forward, then get your unified ISP license.

Category B ISP License

  • If you want to provide internet services in 20 territorial regions in the country, which are fair of a provincial size, then you can avail of a Category B Internet Service Provider license.
  • This type of license fee lies in the mid-range, both in terms of coverage area and licensing cost.
  • The Cat. B licenses are majorly acquired to provide internet services in urban regions.

Category C ISP License

  • The Category C Internet Service Provider License is primarily for those ISPs who want to provide internet service in an SSA. The SSA or Secondary Switching Area is a networking unit of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT).
  • Itr is the most quite inexpensive license for an ISP to procure.
  • Furthermore, A class C license is desirable for start-ups because of this relatively low licensing cost.
  • Also, you can provide internet access to a small town, village, or even a street by getting a unified license category C.
  • Among all the categories of ISP licenses, the category C license is the most sought-after because of its affordable nature.

Also Read: Model Approval certificate: Application filing and Testing

Conclusion

However, regardless of the categories available, no category-specific Internet Service Provider licenses exist. It is just a single unified Internet Service Provider license within which you can specify your license category, i.e. mention the area where you want to provide internet services. One can distinguish between different Internet Service Providers based on this particular factor.

Related Posts

Leave a Comment