Zoom Phone India Explainer

Things to Know Before You Read Ahead

This document focuses on Zoom’s telephony services and service models available within India

Zoom Phone is Zoom’s standard, cloud-based telephony service and is available to customers around the world through native service and bring your own carrier (BYOC) models. Regulatory requirements within India limit the capabilities of Zoom Phone's native service within the country, however. Consequently, this document aims to provide clarity by outlining and defining Zoom's telephony services and service models available within India.

If your business requires India-based numbers, this document is for you — if not, you just need Zoom Phone’s standard service

While this document details the nuances of Zoom’s telephony service offerings within India, these tailored solutions are not required for every business. Fundamentally, if your business does not require the use of local, India-based phone numbers, this document is not for you, and the standard Zoom Phone offering is what you’re looking for. Alternatively, if your business does require India-based numbers—read on! This document is the right one for you.

Zoom holds a pan-India Unified Access Service License issued by the Government of India and is authorized to operate in all 22 licensed service areas

In May of 2023, the Government of India granted Zoom a pan-India Unified Access Service License (Unified License). With this license, Zoom is authorized to provide its cloud-based telephony services as a Tier-1 internet telephony service provider within India for all licensed service areas, including support for both national and international long distance dialing. This sets Zoom apart as one of the first cloud-based telephony service providers with a pan-India Unified License that includes national and international long distance authorization.

With this license, Zoom is uniquely positioned as a cloud-based telephony service provider within the country

Many cloud-based telephony providers operating in India lack one or more of the following regulatory elements: a pan-India Unified License with Access Services authorization, local PSTN calling capability, and National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) authorizations. Providers without a pan-India license are limited to specific licensed service areas; providers without local PSTN capability cannot offer India PSTN calling; and providers without NLD/ILD must hand off long-distance traffic to third-party carriers.

By contrast, Zoom holds the necessary licenses and authorizations, which positions Zoom to offer an independent, locally hosted cloud private branch exchange (PBX) with native India numbers, local PSTN calling in supported circles, and the ability to carry NLD/ILD traffic without relying on other providers.

With the Unified License, Zoom now offers two cloud-based telephony services within India: Zoom Phone India and Zoom Phone’s foreign-hosted PBX

Prior to receiving the pan-India Unified License, Zoom customers could only use India-based phone numbers through a foreign-hosted private branch exchange (FHPBX) service model, with the numbers provided by a customer-provided carrier. However, with the grant of the Unified License, Zoom is now positioned to offer a second cloud-based telephony service within the country called Zoom Phone India.

Readers are encouraged to use the following brief summaries, requirements, and comparisons of these two service models to identify which is best-suited for their business at a glance, after which readers are encouraged to read the robust descriptions of each service further within the document for additional information.

Zoom Phone India is available to any OSP or non-OSP-registered Indian business through Zoom’s India-based data centers, and is available for purchase exclusively in Rupee (INR)

Zoom Phone India is Zoom's cloud-based telephony service tailored specifically for the Indian market. Unlike the FHPBX, Zoom Phone India is only available to Indian-registered business entities, can be used by both OSP and non-OSP-registered businesses, and is available for purchase only in Rupee (INR).

In this service model, Zoom Phone India connects to local telephony services through strategically positioned data centers in Mumbai and Hyderabad, and unlike the FHPBX, does not require routing telephony media to international data centers. However, telephony media may require international transit when dialing internationally across the PSTN or when dialing international Zoom Phone users.

Similar to the FHPBX model, Zoom Phone India includes several considerations and requirements discussed later within this document. However, for the purpose of this summary, readers should be aware of the following strict requirements associated with this service model:

• The business must pay in Indian Rupees (INR) and cannot use other denominations like the US Dollar or Euro.

• The business must be a business entity registered with the Government of India and cannot be an international entity.

• The business must have both an authorized signatory and a Goods and Sales Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) within the state where they are getting service.

• The business must comply with necessary business requirements.

• Customers using a Bring Your Own Carrier Plan (BYOC) with Zoom Phone India may receive service in any licensed service area.

• Customers using Zoom Phone India’s native service must be located within one of Zoom’s six currently-supported licensed service areas.

The foreign-hosted PBX is available to any OSP-registered business within India through Zoom’s international (non-India-based) data centers, and does not accept the Rupee (INR) for payment

The foreign-hosted private branch exchange (FHPBX) service model is available to businesses registered as an Other Service Provider (OSP) within India through Zoom’s international (non-India-based) data centers. Other Service Providers are typically entities that provide services like telebanking, telemedicine, teleeducation, teletrading, e-commerce, call centers, or other IT-enabled services that provide voice-based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services to their customers located around the world, including in India.

Due to the unique telephony infrastructure and regulatory requirements of India, Zoom Phone’s global (i.e., non-Zoom Phone India) native service is not available through data centers located within the country. Instead, thanks to an exemption granted to OSP-registered customers by the Department of Telecommunications in India, Zoom is eligible to provide FHPBX service within India through nearby international data centers within Singapore and Japan. In this service model, telephony media is typically routed between Zoom’s nearby international data centers and a customer’s SBC(s) through a private multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) connection, traversing the PSTN through a customer-provided carrier when required. However, for instances where calls do not require the PSTN, like extension-to-extension dialing, telephony media may utilize the Internet for transit.

There are additional considerations and requirements associated with this service model, discussed later within this document. However, for the purpose of this summary, readers should be aware of the following requirements associated with the FHPBX service model:

• The business must pay with a global currency like the US Dollar or Euro, and cannot pay using the Indian Rupee (INR).

• The business must be OSP-registered, per the Department of Telecommunications of India guidelines.

• The FHPBX service model requires a bring your own carrier (BYOC) connection.

• India-based phone numbers must be provided by the customer-provided carrier and cannot be provided by Zoom.

• Customers must configure a private MPLS circuit between Zoom’s data centers in Singapore and Japan and their office’s SBC(s) for call routing and general service.

Key Comparisons between the FHPBX and Zoom Phone India

The following table outlines differences in core requirements between the two service models available in India, including the differences between Zoom Phone India’s native and bring your own carrier (BYOC) models.

		Zoom Phone India	Zoom Phone India	Zoom Phone India
Key Comparisons	Foreign-Hosted PBX	BYOC	Provider Exchange	Native
India-Based Data Centers	❌	☑️	☑️	☑️
Payment In Indian Rupee	❌	☑️	☑️	☑️
Payment in Global Currency	☑️	❌	❌	❌
OSP-Registered Business	☑️	☑️	☑️	☑️
Non-OSP Registered Business	❌	☑️	☑️	☑️
India-Based Fixed-Line Numbers (Requires MPLS)	☑️	☑️	☑️	❌
India-Based Mobile Numbers (Does not require MPLS)	❌	☑️	☑️	☑️
Zoom Contact Center	☑️*	☑️	☑️	❌
Connectivity	MPLS Only	Internet or MPLS†	Internet or MPLS†	Internet or MPLS

Warning

*Zoom Phone India mobile numbers are not supported †MPLS required for Fixed-Line Numbers. MPLS is not required for Mobile Numbers

In addition to the requirements, the following table outlines differences in key feature availability between the two service models.

		Zoom Phone India	Zoom Phone India	Zoom Phone India
Feature	Foreign-Hosted PBX	BYOC	Provider Exchange	Native
Short Messaging Service (SMS)	Non-Indian Numbers	❌	❌	❌
Phone Number Port-In	Non-Indian Numbers	❌	❌	❌
Assign Multiple Numbers to Agent	☑️	☑️	☑️	❌
End-to-End Encrypted Calls	☑️	Conditional	Conditional	❌