To introduce free competition, National Long Distance (NLD) service was opened for private players in August 2000 based on the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The NLD Service Licensee can carry telecommunication traffic from one Licensed Service area (LSA) to other LSA. The Licensee can also provide Leased Circuit/ Virtual Private Network (VPN) services. From 2013, NLD authorization is being issued under Unified License which was introduced as per National Telecom Policy 2012 to create ‘One Nation-One License’. Before that, NLD was issued as a standalone License. License agreement and guidelines for Unified License is available under Unified License Tab.