by Jinesh Parekh | Jan 27, 2017 | ISP License |
The Government of India has come up with one license for all telecom related services, known as a Unified License. Under unified license, the license holder can apply for ISP license for different areas. One must acquire a Unified License under which he will obtain Authorization for providing ISP services for a certain area. Hence, it must be understood that there is no separate ISP license as such. Instead, one must obtain ISP Authorization under the Unified License.
One company can hold only one Unified License, but can apply for multiple ISP authorizations of different areas. However, the tenure of such authorizations will run concurrently with the tenure of the Unified License, which means that all authorizations will be valid only till the validity of the unified license
Also checkout our articles on how to apply for a Unified License and VNO Authorization. how to start your own business in India.
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by Jinesh Parekh | Jan 2, 2017 | How to Become an ISP |
In this post we provide a sample business model to start an ISP / WISP business in India
This article may serve useful to those who want to become an Internet service provider in India and understand the minimum investment required for their own WISP set-up with the help of our ISP consultants. We provide this information based on clients we helped become a WISP in small cities, townships and villages in India.
Introduction: Is it possible to start a WISP business in India with less than ₹ 500,000?
With our ISP consultants’ expertise and experience, we can say Yes!
- To become an ISP few years back in India meant heavy licensing, bandwidth and infrastructure costs. Luckily, it’s much easier now. There are two possible ways to become an isp:
- After you apply for an ISP license or an ISP franchise you can buy bulk bandwidth from the bulk bandwidth providers in India, create your own marketing materials and pricing plans, work with recommended hardware/software and expand to nearby cities/villages in your district.
- Costs of starting an ISP franchise in India have significantly dropped over the last 3 years. Costs associated with applying for an ISP license or buying wireless hardware/software have significantly dropped over the last 3 years. This makes it an excellent time to invest and start a WISP business in India.
The Model: Start a WISP business in India with less than ₹ 500,000
The following model is built in a way to serve a small city, township towns or villages in India. We have low-cost WISP business models was built over time and in a way that, even with as low as 100 customers per year, the WISP business set up would self-sustainable and marginally profitable.
Lets start estimating your average revenue per year to start WISP business in India with minimal profitability:
| if you have |
|
& if each customer pays |
|
for |
|
your estimated revenue is |
| 100 |
x |
₹500 |
x |
12 |
= |
₹600,000 |
| customers |
|
per month |
|
months |
|
per year |
Estimated Revenue for 3 years: ₹ 18,00,000
Cost of bandwidth (a 155-200 mbps line is enough for the first 100-150 customers) is about 25,000/month.
Lets proceed by estimating your fixed one-time investment costs to start a WISP business in India:
1. ISP License associated costs (Optional)
| DoT costs |
₹42,000 |
for a C class license (Inclusive of 60,000/- of Bank Guarantees) |
payable to DoT |
| Consultancy fees |
₹50,000 |
for ISP application assistance |
payable to consultant |
| Total |
₹92,000 |
|
|
2. Infrastructure and set-up associated costs
| Base Station Server |
₹50,000 |
manages your bulk bandwidth |
payable to hardware supplier |
| Cabling, Towers & Access Points |
₹150,000 |
for end-delivery for up to 125 customers. |
payable to hardware & networking equipment supplier |
| Survey, Installation & Training |
₹70,000 approx. |
fees paid to engineers for site survey, installation & training. |
payable to your ISP networking consultant |
| Client end equipment |
3,000-4,500 per client |
Equipment needed on the client side |
payable to hardware supplier |
TOTAL: ~3-4,00,000/-
Lets proceed further by estimating your recurring costs to start a WISP business in India. These costs will occur monthly and can be removed from customer revenue.
| Buying Bulk Bandwidth |
₹225,000 per year |
Depends on volume and area. |
payable to ISP operator
(We will help you buy bulk bandwidth from a local supplier) |
| WiFi Management Software |
₹20,000 per year |
manages your users and lets your create Internet plans |
payable to software vendor |
| Electricity |
– |
*assume costs for 2 computers that need to be always on |
|
| Server Room / Office Space |
– |
*space required for 2 computer desktops |
|
| Staff |
– |
*1 entry level candidate trained by our ISP consultant for sales/support |
|
| Marketing |
– |
*brochures, business cards, banners, free wifi advertising |
|
| Total |
₹270,000 per year
|
|
|
Conclusion
Total Fixed + Recurring Expenses for 1st year: ₹ 600,000~
Total Fixed + Recurring Expenses over 3 years: ₹ 11,50,000~
Break Even Time: Recover investment in approx. months
Expected Revenue in 5 years: 35,00,000/-
Investment Stages to start a WISP business in India
| Phase A: |
30-120 days |
Applying for an ISP License or finding the right partner agreement for ISP franchise |
₹90,000 (class C including consulting fees) |
| Phase B: |
3 days |
Site Survey & Network Planning |
₹70,000 |
| Phase C: |
7 days |
Hardware/Software Purchase & Installation |
₹300,000 |
| Phase D: |
7-10 days |
Bandwidth Purchase |
₹25,000/month for 100-155 Mbps approx. |
| Start your WISP business in India within 3 months. |
Historic trends suggest that costs of hardware, software and bandwidth will reduce over time. In the next 4 years India will double its Internet population and quadruple its data demands.
We’ve planned this WISP business model in a way that – it would be easy for you to expand your customer capacity to 5000 without any server upgrades or major networking costs.
Contact us if you wish to start your own WISP business. (Click here)
by Jinesh Parekh | Dec 20, 2016 | How to Become an ISP |
In this article we provide information on how to become an Internet service provider in India
Quick Summary
- Plan your business and network
- Research laws and apply for an ISP license / ISP Franchise
- Start evaluating for hardware/software vendors
- Get your ISP license / franchise approval.
- Purchase hardware, software and bulk bandwidth
- Set up network infrastructure
- Start marketing with brochures, banners and free WiFi advertising
- Build customers; give them quality service and support
- Become an Internet Service Provider in India!
OR simply contact us and we shall help you get started! http://muftinternet.com/isp-consultant-india/)
[Note: If you wish to become a Wireless ISP – we also recommend you to read this article: How to become a WISP in India?]
So, you want to become an Internet service provider in India? We’ll guide you with this tutorial. We have broken this guide into 3 sections:
- Legal Factors – The licenses or agreements required and guidelines to comply to become an Internet service provider in India.
- Business Factors – A section explaining infrastructure and start-up costs, marketing and sales strategy and support channels.
- Technical Factors – The technologies you need become an Internet service provider – Syslog server, data servers, Broadband / WiFi Management Software and user authentication systems.
LEGAL FACTORS
HOW TO BECOME AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA?
There first thing you’re going to need is an ISP license to become an internet bandwidth providers in India. This is issued by the Department of Telecom. If you are starting off with minimum investment, we’d suggest you to get an ISP Franchise from our existing 30+ Class A/B licensed providers.
About ISP License – There are 3 types of service areas under one Unified ISP license issued by the Department of Telecom in India. These licenses are allocated on the basis of service areas:
- Service Area – Category A: This ISP license enables you to conduct business across ANY state/city in India.
- Service Area – Category B: This ISP license enables you to conduct business in any of the twenty Territorial Telecom Circles and the four Metro Telephone Systems of Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai of the DoT.
- Service Area – Category C: This includes any Secondary Switching Area (SSA) with their geographical boundaries defined by Depart of Telecom. The SSAs of each of the four Metro Telephone Systems of Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai.
You can learn more about how to apply for an ISP License by clicking here:
BUSINESS FACTORS
HOW TO BECOME AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA?
Where do you plan to provide the Internet service?
Have you considered a plan for monetization of the Internet service?
Have you considered the pricing plans you would like to offer to your end-users?
How many users do you expect to sign up for your Internet service in that area?
Do you have a business plan to become an Internet service provider?
How do you intend to provide support to your end-users?
These are some of the questions we plan to answer in this section of how to become an Internet service provider in India.
A. Plan your business
The first thing you’re going to need is a ISP business plan in India. You need to understand the local competition’s prices, number of customers using a broadband connection and the cost and return to setup your own ISP.
B. Find your suppliers
The second thing you’re you going to need is find suppliers of wholesale bandwidth. Since its a highly unorganized market, be fully confident before entering into agreements with any individual or company. Use the help of experts to understand the right suppliers of hardware, software and bandwidth in your city/state.
C. Estimate your costs
The cost of bandwidth is your one major expense. Once you have negotiated with a Class A / B provider to purchase wholesale bandwidth, you need to start noting all your estimated costs:
- Cost of Room / Area to keep data servers
- Cost of Hardware / Software
- Cost of Bulk Bandwidth
- Cost of Service
- Cost of Marketing and Sales
D. Create pricing plan and monetization strategy
Once you have a basic understanding of your estimated costs, you need to start creating a pricing plan for broadband / WISP service. This pricing plan needs to be carefully thought through based on your estimated users and their demand for data, your local competition and in line with the pricing plans of big telcos.
E. Marketing Strategy
How do you plan to reach out to your customers? Many local ISPs in India use sales agents, brochures, bus depot advertisements and digital marketing (or WiFi Advertising) to reach out to their potential customers. Plan a clear marketing strategy.
F. Support Strategy
Think of a multi-channel support strategy – Set up your call center, email ticket system and connect it with your billing management software etc. The key to starting a successful ISP business is having fantastic support. Although, if you are starting off with limited investment, you can avoid spending too much money on setting up call centers, etc. Just ensure there is a central number where your customers can easily get in touch with you or your team.
TECHNICAL FACTORS
HOW TO BECOME AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER IN INDIA?
The last thing and the perhaps the most important thing to consider is the technology that will power your Internet service provision company.
A. Method of Delivery
- Ethernet – The first thing to consider here is method of delivery. You can choose to have lay your fiber optic cables. This method can be slightly more expensive the latter method. Although, if you want to provide 50 Mbps+ plans in your area, you would need to deploy fiber optic.
- Wireless – Alternatively, you can also choose to deliver your Internet service by creating a Wireless network. Please note this is different from creating a WiFi network. This method of delivery has lower capacity as compared to fiber optics but wireless is also carried out at less than half the cost of fiber optics.
- Which method to choose?
If the general internet plans in your city are above 50mbps per customer, you would require fiber optics. If not, starting off with wireless would be the right way ahead for you.
B. Source of Delivery
Whether your method of delivery is Ethernet or WiFi; you will need to bring your purchased bulk bandwidth to a centralized location before you deliver it. Bulk Bandwidth can be availed by getting in touch with Class A ISPs who can provide bandwidth anywhere in India. For more information on bandwidth, click here.
This location will contain your syslog server, user-data server, and deliveries/management server, your customers ids, etc. All the management is happening through your main router/switch. Don’t stress! You only need a 10×10 sq.ft. room to keep all these equipment.
Note: At Muft Internet, we help people become Internet Service Providers in India. We are an ISP consultancy firm dedicated to help aspiring, small and mid-sized Internet service providers in India overcome their technical or legal roadblocks. We have worked on several low cost ISP setups for people who want to start their own ISP business.
Plan your own ISP/WISP business, apply for an ISP license, deploy your network or buy bulk bandwidth – our expert ISP consultants are here to help you.
Learn how you can become an Internet service provider and start your own WISP/ISP business with less than ₹ 5 lacs and within 120 days.
ALSO, YOU CAN READ OUR NEW UPDATES
by Jinesh Parekh | Dec 19, 2016 | ISP License |
In this article we explain how to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India?
The Government of India has come up with one license for all telecom related services, known as a Unified License. Under unified license, the license holder can apply for ISP license for different areas. One must acquire a Unified License under which he will obtain Authorization for providing ISP services for a certain area such as providing internet for rural areas in India. Hence, it must be understood that there is no separate ISP license as such. Instead, one must obtain ISP Authorization under the Unified License.
One company can hold only one Unified License, but can apply for multiple ISP authorizations of different areas. However, the tenure of such authorizations will run concurrently with the tenure of the Unified License, which means that all authorizations will be valid only till the validity of the unified license.
One company can hold only one Unified License, but can apply for multiple ISP authorizations of different areas. However, the tenure of such authorizations will run concurrently with the tenure of the Unified License, which means that all authorizations will be valid only till the validity of the unified license.
Step 1: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Check Eligibility
To obtain an ISP license, you require a registered company under the Companies Act, 1956. You can log on to the Registrar of Companies’ website for more information on how to register a company if you haven’t already registered yours.
Step 2: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Choose a suitable ISP license category to apply under
The next step to obtaining an ISP license is to know / decide which category of license you require – category A, B or C. Click here to know more about how to select the right category for your ISP License.
In India, there are 3 different categories of licenses to become an internet service provider, depending upon the City/State/Town/District/Village you want to start your ISP business in.
The 3 categories of ISP licenses are:
- Class A (National Area)
- Class B (Telecom Circle/Metro Area)
- Class C (Secondary Switching Area)
Naturally, a Class A ISP license would be quite expensive, followed by Class B & C respectively.
Step 3: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Budgeting and Costing
To promote internet access in smaller towns, cities & villages, the Government of India has made a conscious effort to ease prices of a Class C license compared to a Class A or B license.
The following table will explain the financial entry conditions you require to fulfill in order to obtain a Class A/B/C ISP license:
| Service |
Minimum Equity |
Minimum Net worth |
Entry Fee (Rs.) |
Performance BG (Rs.) |
Financial BG (Rs.) |
Application Processing Fee (Rs.) |
Total Capital Required (Rs.) |
| ISP “A” (National Area) |
Nil |
Nil |
30 Lakh |
40 Lakh |
2 Lakh |
50 Thousand |
72,50,000 |
| ISP “B” (Telecom circle/Metro Area) |
Nil |
Nil |
2 Lakh |
2 Lakh |
20 Thousand |
15 Thousand |
4,35,000 |
| ISP “C” (SSA) |
Nil |
Nil |
20 Thousand |
10 Thousand |
2 Thousand |
10 Thousand |
42,000 |
As you can see above, the total capital required for a Class C license is INR 42,000/- whereas for a Class A license is as high as 72.5 Lakh.
Thus, in order to become a Class C ISP licence holder, you don’t require more than Rs. 1 lakh, depending on the lawyer / ISP consultant fees.
Once you have selected the category of the ISP license you want to obtain as per your ISP business plan in India, it is important to know how the entire application process goes.
Now, let’s take you through on how to apply for an ISP license & the documents, legal help, etc. you will require.
Step 4: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Initial Application Process
- After you have chosen your ISP license category, you will need to fill out an application form.
- Along with the form, a non-refundable Processing Fee of INR 15,000/- must be paid by the applicant, along with 2 copies of the application form, by DD/Pay Order from a Schedule Bank payable at New Delhi issued in the name of Pay & Accounts Officer (Headquarter) DOT.
- Provide all required official documents. Click here to know the list of documents required.
Step 5: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Document Review
Once you have submitted your application form along with the required documents & fees, the Department of Telecom will review your application & respond to you, the applicant, in under 60 days, as far as practicable i.e. in case there are any issues with your application, there may be a delay in the issuing of a response from the DOT.
If there is no problem with your complete application, the DOT will issue a ‘Letter of Intent’ in your favor.
However, there are chances that your application may be rejected or delayed due to non-compliance with legal, security, hardware, commercial and contractual compliance and human errors such as incomplete form submission.
Therefore, it is important to get an ISP consultant / lawyer to review your application before you submit your application form for obtaining the ISP authorization under the Unified License . Click here to know more.
Step 6: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Letter of Intent
If there are no issues with your application form for obtaining the ISP authorization under the Unified License, the DOT will issue a ‘Letter of Intent’ in your favor. Once the Letter of Intent is issued,
- You will have to submit the one-time entry fee (as mentioned in the table above) along with the required bank guarantees.
- Furthermore, you will have to submit a signed license agreement with the DOT and any other documents required, including the documents mentioned in the Letter of Intent.
- Do note that the one-time entry fee is non-refundable & once the Letter of intent is issued, all the above requirements have to be fulfilled within a specific period that will be mentioned in the Letter of Intent.
Step 7: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? – Confirmation
If everything goes smoothly, you will be issued an ISP authorization under the Unified License for a period of 20 years. The DOT will contact you / mail you directly to inform you whether you have been issued the ISP License.
Step 8: How to (apply for &) get an ISP license in India? Conclusion – Need for Expertise: Get/Apply an ISP license in India
The process of ISP licensing is technical and lengthy for a common person to comprehend. There have been quite a few instances where the application is rejected because of an incomplete submission, missing information, non-compliance, missing documents etc. Thus, it is advisable to get your documents & forms reviewed by a professional ISP consultant or lawyer to make sure you don’t lose out on time & money.
Click here to know more about our ISP consultancy.
Disclaimer: the rules keep changing as per notifications by DOT and Govt. This information was published on Oct’2016. Do not treat this as professional advice, kindly contact us for up-to-date compliance and to avail professional assistance for your application.
Need an ISP consultant to help you with your ISP License Application?
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