International Long Distance License: Eligibility Criteria required to obtain It

International Long Distance License or the ILD license is the permission to provide data and voice services over long distances outside the bounds of India. Simply stated, it’s a license to provide network carriage that enables international connectivity to the network on which the foreign carriers operate.

To put it even more simply, they provide network carrier services to other Access Service providers so that these providers can facilitate their subscribers with voice, data, fax, video, multimedia and other kinds of tele-service.

Issued by the Department of Telecommunication, obtaining an ILD  license requires adherence to specific eligibility criteria.

That brings us to the focus of this blog – eligibility criteria required to obtain the International Long Distance License.

Read More:Startup Registration

International Long Distance Operator: The Eligibility Criteria

Before an applicant can apply for the ILD license, he or she has to assess whether or not they meet the following requirements:

1. Incorporation of a company: No individual applicant is apply for apply for ILD license. One has to incorporate a company. That company would then act as an applicant to become an International Long Distance Operator.
2. Adhering to the security conditions: It’s imperative that the ILD operator adheres to all the security conditions mentioned in the unified license guidelines specific to International Long Distance Services.
3. Net worth requirement: The applicant has to meet the net worth requirement of INR 5 Crore Rupees.
4. The applicant must not transfer any information outside India: It’s imperative that the applicant does not transfer any information related to account information of itself, the personal information of the user and browsing information of the subscriber outside India.

International Long Distance Operator Registration: The procedure

The procedure to acquire ILD License in India is as follows;

1. Company incorporation: if the applicant hasn’t done so yet, he must first incorporate a company and ensure that it has the net worth of INR 2.5 Crore.
2. Furnishing the documents: After applicant has the Company Incorporation Certificate, he must attach it with the rest of the following documents in preparation for the next step:
   1. Memorandum of Association,
   2. Articles of Association,
   3. Business Plan of the company,
   4. Funding arrangement for project financing,
   5. Pay order of Demand Draft of the processing fee,
   6. List of directors/promoters/shareholders of the company,
   7. Equity details of the company,
   8. Copy of agreement between the Indian company and the foreign partner in case of foreign investment, and
   9. Board resolution authorizing the application filing
   10. Board authorization letter granting power to file the applicant to an authorized signatory.
3. Application filing: The applicant then must file the online application for International Long Distance Operator Registration.
4. Application assessment: The Department of Telecommunication will initiate the application’s assessment once it receives the applicant’s request. After assessment, the DOT will send the applicant with a letter of intent.
5. Fulfilling the requirements in the letter of intent: Upon receiving the letter of intent, the applicant must fulfil the financial requirements mentioned in the said letter.

After the applicant fulfils the obligations mentioned in the letter of intent, the Department of Telecommunication will send them a signed ILD Registration agreement. Read More: Producer Company Registration

Conclusion

Facilitating International Long Distance services is the core of India’s inclination to provide telecom services at an international scale.

However, providing such a nuanced service entails technical, and financial expertise that the service provider must prove that he possesses. After duly proving that  he can provide the same, he can go ahead and start the registration procedure.

This blog discusses the eligibility criteria required to obtain International Long Distance license. Know the requirements the applicant must meet before applying for the aforementioned license.