A Comprehensive Guide to Start a Telecommunication Business in India

Telecommunication companies are playing a crucial role in today's era on a global scale. Majorly, these cellular network companies are connecting one person to another, with text, voice, video, or audio, in the whole world. 

Although the communication industry is not new, it starts in the 1830s. From that time to now, this sector is evolved a lot and new companies are opting for these changes to grow. But before starting a business one must understand the process to set up a telecom company.

Once your business gets registered in India, you have to follow the DoT compliances to retain the registration. But before following the DoT compliance, below are the steps to start a cellular network company.

Decide a Niche in Telecom

Do you want to start a television network business, or maybe a cellular network company? Other than these you can start a radio station, provide internet services, home security, or digital transformation.

It doesn’t matter, which service you want to start, all these services came into one broad category which is telecommunication. Before starting a cellular network company, you must know the niche, or type of services you want to provide. 

On the basis of the niche, the permits will change. Telecom companies are currently more bullish about 5G technology, and in the future, the market will keep changing. So, it is important that telecom companies choose their primary focus of business and based on that create all goals.

Write a Business Plan

A business plan works as a guide to new businesses, and it shows the path to businesses such as when to apply for a license, funding, etc. A business plan has its own structure, which companies should follow. 

On the internet, there are many sites and manuals which help you create a business plan or you can hire a professional. But below is the list of all the important points that must be included in a business plan.

A Business Plan Checklist to Follow

• Executive Summary: Think of your business in some lines, or a short paragraph, which is readable in seconds. This is called an executive summary, write it in a manner that you’re pitching to the investors and they wanted to know why you start this business and the goals behind it. 
• Business Analysis: the goals of the business and the tools or steps they took to reach the goals.
• Marketing Strategy: It includes the target audience, platform, the portion which fits the product, and how they reach that portion. 
• Competitive Analysis: What are the companies that are offering the same product? And how you can perform better and offer something different to customers.
• Product and Service Analysis: Compare your products with others in the market, and understand the areas where you can improve and provide better services.
• Risk Management: The procedure which will be followed to minimize the financial risk or the process to identify the procedure.
• Financial Protection: The things which will include in the profit projection for the next five years.

Decide a Name and Register Your Company

After knowing the niche and business plan, there are some legal steps that should be followed to choose a name of a company and get it register.

• Finalize a business structure, such as LLP, or a Corporation.
• Select a name for the business.
• Get an internet domain. Some companies buy all the domains for the name which cost them a lot.
• Register a name on the domain to secure it.

Obtain Licenses and Permits

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the U.S. Federal Government. This is the main authority to make laws and regulations regarding communication, and innovations. As a telecom company, you must follow all the rules set by FCC.

As the telecom industry is operated by FCC, you need an FCC license and permit to set up a company and operate it in the industry. The different types of telecom license are as follow:

1. ISP Licenses Category A, B, and C
2. UL VNO License
3. OSP Registrations
4. Share Infrastructure License
5. IP-1 Registration
6. Audiotex / Voice Call / UMS License 

 To operate a telecom company, a business needs to fulfill the FCC requirement to acquire a telecom license.

Pay the Federations Communications Commission

To register under the FCC, you have to pay several fees. Below are the different types of fees that need to be paid as per the type and need of the business:

• Application Processing Fees – It is paid for licenses, equipment approval, antenna registrations, tariff filings, formal complaints, and other authorizations and regulatory actions.
• Annual Regulatory Fees – It is collected from specific categories of regulated entities in the mass media, common carrier, wireless, international, and cable television services.
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Fees – It is for processing requests.
• Auction Payments –  It is for upfront payments, down payments, and subsequent payments for licenses that the FCC auctions.
• Forfeitures – These are the penalties that need to pay for FCC violations of law or noncompliance with authorizations.
  

Make a Financial Plan

So, for all the major steps you took, now it’s time to create a financial plan which is most important for other steps to work. There are different ways that you can use to fund your business to make it grow. Some of these options are:

• Loan for SBA Communication Corporation
• Angel Investor
• Venture Capital Funding
• Crowd Sourcing

Conclusion

The telecommunication market is growing rapidly, especially after 2020. We at Registrationwala, help businesses to get different Telecom Company licenses in India. We can help you in the following ways:

• Complete application filing.
• Document preparation assistance.
• Auditing Assistance.
• Department follow up

Reach out to us for any query regarding telecom company registration. And, we will provide you an end-to-end support

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.