On June 23, 2021, the Indian Telecom Ministry's Department
of Telecommunications (“DoT”) released
a revised set of Guidelines for Other Service Providers
(“OSPs”) (“New
Guidelines”).
OSP regulations were significantly relaxed in November 2020
– you can read BTG's summary of that change here. These
New Guidelines replace the guidelines issued in November 2020
(“Old Guidelines”) and further
simplify the regulatory framework applicable to OSPs.
A copy of the New Guidelines can be accessed here.
The New Guidelines make the following key changes:
-
Applicability: The New Guidelines apply to OSPs
that provide ‘voice-based business process outsourcing'
(BPO) services to customers located in India and abroad. This
targets call center services provided by OSPs via public networks
(PTSN / PLMN / ISDN) but not data-based entities that facilitate
calls via voice over internet protocols (i.e. VoIP). Non-voice
based BPO services are not included under the purview of the
