In this article we provide information on how to become an Internet service provider in India

Quick Summary

1. Plan your business and network
2. Research laws and apply for an ISP license
3. Start evaluating for hardware/software vendors
4. Get your ISP license approval from DoT
5. Purchase hardware, software and bulk bandwidth
6. Set up network infrastructure
7. Start marketing with brochures, banners and free WiFi advertising
8. Build customers; give them quality service and support
9. Become an Internet Service Provider in India!

OR simply contact us and we shall help you get started! http://muftinternet.com/digital-divide/isp-consultant-india/)
[Note: If you wish to become a WISP – we 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:

1. Legal Factors – The licenses required and guidelines to comply to become an Internet service provider in India.
2. Business Factors – A section explaining infrastructure and start-up costs, marketing and sales strategy and support channels.
3. 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 service provider in India. This is issued by the Department of Telecom. 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 and Telephone Systems of four major cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune with their geographical boundaries defined as on 1.4.1997, however, stand excluded from Category ‘C’ as they already form a separate Category ‘B’ Service Area.

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 business plan. You can get a sample business plan by clicking here. This plan will answer most of your questions on how to start plan your ISP business.

B. Find your suppliers

The second thing you’re you going to need is find local suppliers of wholesale bandwidth. This requires a bit of local business intelligence. Find out who can provide you with a leased line in the area you wish to serve. You can buy wholesale bandwidth from more than one provider to ensure maximum up-time for your users.

C. Estimate your costs

The cost of raw bandwidth in India is very high. Once you have negotiated with your local supplier 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 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.
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 multichannel 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.

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 own leased line (fibre optic cables) or rent such lines from an existing company’s network. This method can be slightly more expensive the latter method.
WiFi – Alternatively, you can also choose to deliver your Internet service by creating a WiFi network. (Becoming Wireless Internet Service Provider). This method of delivery has lower quality of service than the former method.
B. Source of Delivery
Whether your method of delivery is Ethernet or WiFi; you will need to bring your purchased bulk bandwidth to a centralised location before you deliver it.
This location will contain your syslog server, user-data server, and deliveries/management server. You will also need to buy a broadband or WiFi management software to create user plans, track sites as per government laws for Internet provision in India.
Links for references:

1. Top 5 WiFi Management Software
2. How to become a WISP in India?

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 ₹ 8 lacs and within 120 days.