OSP refers to Other Service Providers. The services that are part of this “other services” category are Call centers, BPOs, e-Commerce websites, tele-banking, Tele-education. All of these are part of IT enabled services that need telecom and internet resources from authorized service providers as well. In order to use these resources to run an OSP, one needs an OSP License. Provided by the Department of Telecommunication or DOT, the OSP License allows companies to provide other services for a period of 20 years.
An OSP License is a form of registration where a company becomes eligible to provide Other Services.
o Applicant must be a company
o License is required for Domestic as well as International BPO
o Generally the DOT OSP License is valid for 20 years, However it can be for lesser period also. The validity period shall be mentioned on the License.
o Only approved ISP should be used to build the infrastructure
The factors that determine the type of OSPs are the following:
1. The number of workers within an organization.
2. The network area to which this service is to be provided.
Adhering to the aforementioned factors, two types of OSPs exist.
1. Domestic: An Other Service Provider that provides application services within the national boundaries
2. International: An Other Service Provider that provides application service beyond the boundaries of the nation.
In order to obtain the OSP License in India, following are the steps that are needed to be following”
1. Step 1: Company Incorporation: The first step is to register your company to the MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs).
2. Step 2: Gathering Documents: The second step is to gather the following documents in and organizing it for the upload:
1. PAN card of the company.
2. Certificate of Incorporation issued by Registrar of Company
3. Memorandum and Article of Association of the company.
4. Board resolution or Power of Attorney authorizing the authorized signatory with attested signatures.
5. List of the present directors of the company.
6. A note specifying the nature of the OSP (within 50 words to be given by the company)
7. Present shareholding pattern of the company indicating equity details (Indian Equity and Foreign Equity).
8. A network Diagram: OSPs shall submit a copy of the network diagram approved by the Telecom Service Provider (TSP) to DOT Cells for records and verification.
All the documents must be certified with seal by either a practicing Company Secretary or one of the Directors of the Company or Statutory Auditors (Chartered Accountant) or Public Notary.
3. Step 3: Applying for the OSP registration online: the application is available online on the saralsanchar website (Form A).
OSP License is valid for 20 years from the date of issue which can be extended up to 10 years.
However, after receiving registration for one location, the OSP can apply for another location providing the OSP license of the obtained location and a copy of incorporation by ROC i.e, it is location specific license and non- transferable.
For multiple registration:-
After getting the registration certificate for the first location, the OSP may apply to other respective designated authorities for remaining sites. In such cases, the OSP has to submit only copy of OSP Registration obtained for first site and a copy of certificate of incorporation issued by registrar of companies if such request is made by OSP within one year and there is no change in the status of previously submitted documents. But for registration after one year a complete set of documents shall be required to be submitted.
1. The OSP shall submit ‘Annual return’ to the registering authority in the prescribed Performa within six months of completion of the financial year, indicating the details of the activities of the previous financial year and the status of their continuing the OSP operation. The operational OSPs shall be put in the Active OSP list.
2. The OSP shall take the Telecom Resources from an Authorised Telecom Service Provider only for example Airtel, Tata.
3. The OSP shall set up call center having at least 50 seats.
Q. When to submit the Annual Return after registration?
After the completion of the Financial Year, the Annual Return is to be submitted within 6 months. The annual return must indicate the details of the activities of the previous financial year and the status of their continuing the OSP operation.
Q. What if the Annual Return is not submitted?
Those OSPs who do not submit the annual return for consecutive three years will be put in the dormant list and their registration will be canceled after keeping them for two years in the dormant list. Such a list would be made available on the DOT website.
Q. What are the domestic OSP and International OSP and can they have interconnectivity?
OSP providing the application services within national boundaries is known as Domestic OSP. Whereas, OSP providing application services beyond national boundaries is known as International OSP. Interconnectivity is not allowed between them.
Q. What is the DOT OSP License in India?
The DOT OSP License is valid for the period for which it has been issued, the period of validity is mentioned on the license itself. Generally the DOT OSP License is issued with a validity of 20 years, however to keep it valid the company must file annual status return.
Q. Is the DOT OSP License transferable?
No as per telecom policy the DOT OSP License issued to one company is not transferable to any other company.
Q. Can a company apply for more than one registration?
Yes, a company can have multiple registrations. After receiving registration for one location, the OSP can apply for another location providing the OSP license of the obtained location and a copy of incorporation by ROC.
For more information on this visit www.taxaj.com
Posted by Pooja