A cable landing station is the first point of termination/connection of submarine cable in India. ISP uses a Landing station to setup International gateway for internet traffic.
Department of Telecommunication have started to entertain the proposals from Internet Service Providers for setting up Submarine Cable Lending Stations in India. However, to successfully file the proposal, these applicants who go through the Cable Landing Stations process must agree to follow the general conditions.
Cable Landing Stations Guidelines that the ISP licensee must adhere to
Following points constitute the general conditions that an ISP must follow when setting up a landing station to provide international gateway for internet traffic.
- The ISP Licensee must only set up the landing station within its service area.
- The Landing Station must only be utilized for carrying Internet traffic.
- No entity must use Landing station for any unlawful activity or activities that are against the general public interest.
- The applicant ISP must ensure that the Landing Station’s configurations strictly adhere to the details provided in the prescribed application.
- The Landing Station must obtain the clearance from the Telecom Authority before operating.
The ISP Licensee with the Landing station must furnish whatever information the Telecom Authority asks for within 15 days of receiving the query. Read More: Network License
The Telecom Authority has the right to carry out surprise inspection of the Landing Station. It’s to ensure that the Landing Station is only used for its primary purpose – carrying traffic and is not being used to conduct unlawful activities.
- The ISP Licensee must obtain all the certifications, clearance and permissions as per the law of the land.
- In case the ISP Node and the Landing Station are not located at the same place, the transmission link between them should be from DOT, Railways, State Electricity Board, National Power-Grid Corporation, Licensed Basic Service Operator or any other operator with the authorization to lease such links to the ISP.
- The ISP must furnish information about all the ISPs that are linked with the Landing Station. If the licensee wants to add more ISPs, it must receive the permission of the Telecom Authority.
Before changing any aspect of the network topology to the landing station or adding to them, the ISP must obtain the permission from the Telecom Authority.
The Licensee should not establish Landing Stations in security sensitive regions. Internet nodes that are covering regions of security importance must only be routed through VSNL. Telecom Authority would identify the Security Sensitive areas from time to time. For the moment, the Authority considers the following regions are Security Sensitive:
- Punjab
- Kashmir
- North Eastern States
- Border Areas
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Coastal Areas of Gujarat
- Tamil Nadu
To add services to the Landing station, the licensee has to obtain the approval of the telecom authority.
The ISP licensee must block the websites of internet subscribers that the Telecom Authority identities as a threat.
ISP licensee must make the billing details of the internet subscriber as per the demand of the Telecom Authority.
Telecom Authority has the right to change the Security Related requirements.
If any complain or dispute arises about the bandwidth from the Submarine Cable or from the subscriber, it should be a matter to be resolve between the licensee and the subscriber. Telecom Authority will not hold any part of this dispute. Read More: Non Network License
The ISP Licensee must not interfere with any operations of Department of Telecommunications.
Whenever the sector opens up for private participation, ISP licensee won’t have any right to claim to carry voice traffic.
The ISP licensee must establish the Landing Station within 100 Km of the sea shore.
Conclusion
To obtain the right establish a Cable Landing Station in India, the ISP licensee must adhere to the guidelines. If you have any queries pertaining to the Cable Landing Station fees or anything else, contact our Telecom consultants.
Related Content: Prepaid Wallet License
This blog lists the General Conditions to set up a Cable Landing Station in India. For details about Cable Landing Stations process or fees, consult with Registrationwala.
