Are you an OSP(Other Service Provider)? Here is the checklist to know!
Many transnational corporations struggle to determine whether their India offices should be classified as OSPs. This is crucial for compliance purposes and impacts the design and architecture of their voice networks.
A typical model for such transnational corporations is to have a US or European entity (foreign entity) as a business office, which is responsible for business development and customer interactions, while the back-office in India (India entity) is responsible for the details of the process – dealing with the actual nitty-gritty details of the work to be done for the customer and delivered to them.
In essence, we are dealing with 3 legal entities here:
- The end-customer
- The US company (usually the parent)
- The India company (usually the subsidiary)
This checklist should serve as a heuristic to help you get an initial idea of whether the business process you are looking at falls under the category of OSP or not.
Section 1: Business Structure
- Is the India-based entity legally related to the foreign entity?
☐ Yes, the US company is a parent of the India entity
☐ Yes, the India company is a parent of the US entity
☐ No, they are unrelated
2. Is the India entity providing services to:
☐ Its own group/parent company (captive model)
☐ An unrelated foreign client (third party)
☐ Both
3. Who signs the service contract with the end-customer?
☐ US/foreign entity
☐ Indian entity
Section 2: Nature of Work
4. What kind of work is done by the India entity?
☐ Core customer support/interaction
☐ Technical or knowledge-based back-end support
☐ Sales or pre-sales
☐ R&D / internal corporate functions
5. Is any part of the service delivered using telecom resources (e.g., internet-based voice/video, IP calling, chat)?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If Q5 = No telecom resources used, then OSP does not apply regardless of customer type.
6. Is the service delivered to:
☐ Indian customers (third-party)
☐ Foreign customers (third-party)
☐ Internal group entities only
If Q3 = Indian entity signs contract, and Q6 = Foreign customers or Indian customers (third party), then OSP likely applies.
Section 3: Customer Interaction
7. Do India-based employees ever directly communicate with end-customers located outside India (voice, video, or chat)?
☐ Regularly
☐ Occasionally
☐ Never
8. If yes, what is the purpose of that communication?
☐ Core service delivery
☐ Clarifications/escalations
☐ Sales/onboarding/troubleshooting
☐ Development-related, collaboration-style discussions
If Q2 = “unrelated foreign client” and Q5 = Yes and Q7 = Regularly or Occasionally, then OSP classification applies.
If Q2 = “captive model”, and Q7 = Never, then you are not an OSP.
If Q2 = “captive model”, and Q7 = Regularly or Occasionally, then you are probably not an OSP.
Section 4: Infrastructure and Telephony
9. Do employees use any of the following to communicate with foreign customers?
☐ VoIP / Zoom / MS Teams / Webex (cloud-based calling)
☐ PSTN or mobile calls via international dialing
☐ VPN over the internet to access remote customer systems
☐ None of the above
10. Is there a centralized telecom setup (like an IP PBX, SIP trunks) hosted in India or abroad used for such interactions?
☐ Yes
☐ No
If Q2 = “unrelated foreign client” and Q7 = Regularly or Occasionally, and Q9 is NOT None of the above, then OSP classification applies.
Note that this is a heuristics-based checklist – it is not a legally binding document. If you have any doubts or concerns, please contact Pradeep Vasudev, our Telecom Compliance Expert, and share this checklist (pradeep@assertion.cloud); we’d be happy to have a free discussion and review session to help you in your decision-making.