Broadband
DIPA adds Shaurrya Teleservices to strengthen digital infra push
Focus on OFC, IBS grows as India scales 5G and prepares for 6G future.
MUMBAI: Another brick in India’s digital highway only this one carries signals, not traffic. Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) has onboarded Shaurrya Teleservices Private Limited as a new member, tightening its grip on the next phase of the country’s connectivity build-out. The move aligns with DIPA’s role under the National Broadband Mission 2.0 (NBM 2.0), where the emphasis is increasingly shifting to the less visible but far more critical layers of digital infrastructure. Two areas stand out: Optical Fibre Cable (OFC), the backbone of high-speed broadband and rural connectivity, and In-Building Solutions (IBS), which determine how well signals actually work once they enter homes, offices and malls in a 5G-first world.
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Gurugram, Shaurrya Teleservices operates as a Category I infrastructure provider, offering a wide suite of services from telecom tower deployment and Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) to IoT, AI-enabled network platforms, SD-WAN and Network-as-a-Service (NaaS). Its partnerships span major operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio and BSNL, positioning it firmly within India’s core connectivity ecosystem.
At a time when India’s telecom footprint is expanding rapidly now comprising 8.53 lakh mobile towers and approximately 3.21 million base transceiver stations (BTS), the focus is no longer just on scale, but on depth and quality of coverage. Indoor connectivity, fibre penetration and network intelligence are emerging as the real differentiators as the country pushes towards universal broadband and prepares the groundwork for 6G.
DIPA’s leadership sees the onboarding as part of a broader strategy to blend legacy infrastructure strength with newer, agile players capable of driving innovation. For Shaurrya, the membership offers a seat at the policy table, where industry and regulation increasingly intersect.
The bigger picture is hard to miss. India’s infrastructure story is no longer siloed digital networks are converging with energy systems and industrial corridors, creating a tightly interwoven backbone for economic growth. In that context, adding new players isn’t just expansion, it’s reinforcement.
Because in the race to connect a billion people, the strongest networks aren’t just built, they’re continuously rewired.
Broadband
Tejas Networks names Arnob Roy as MD and CEO, overhauls top leadership team
The Bengaluru-based telecom gear maker reshuffles its entire top team even as quarterly revenue collapses by 83 per cent
BENGALURU: Tejas Networks is changing the guard at the top, and doing so at speed. The Bengaluru-headquartered telecom equipment maker has elevated Arnob Roy as managing director and chief executive officer, effective April 15, 2026, for a term running through to August 3, 2028, and in the same breath announced new appointments across operations and finance. The timing is pointed: the company is navigating one of the roughest patches in its recent history.
Roy steps up from his role as executive director and chief operating officer, a position he has held since March 2019. He brings more than three decades of experience in the high-technology sector across research and development, operations, and sales. His predecessor, Anand Athreya, resigned last year citing personal reasons and was relieved on June 20, 2025, leaving a gap at the top that has now been formally filled.
The numbers Roy inherits are sobering. Tejas posted a net loss of Rs 211.3 crore in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, a near-194 per cent widening year on year from Rs 71.8 crore in the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter collapsed 82.6 per cent year on year to Rs 333 crore, down from Rs 1,907 crore. EBITDA swung to a loss of Rs 118.2 crore against a profit of Rs 121.5 crore a year ago. The culprit is not hard to identify: Tejas has derived the bulk of its revenue from BSNL’s fourth-generation network project, delivered as part of a Tata Consultancy Services-driven consortium, and that roll-out is now winding down.
Roy, speaking during a post-earnings conference call with analysts, was candid about where the company has been. “The BSNL 4G network went live across 100,000 sites. We deployed our largest indigenous router networks in the country through the BSNL MAN network, as well as in the BharatNet Phase 3 network,” he said, adding that Tejas had also successfully rolled out its 400G and 800G DWDM equipment in domestic and international markets, and continued the deployment of what it describes as the world’s largest satellite IoT network through its vehicle tracking system solution.
The pivot to new revenue streams is already under way. Tejas has partnered with Japan’s Rakuten Symphony and NEC Corporation to push deeper into international markets, with several Open Radio Access Network trials ongoing, one of which concluded recently. The company is also diversifying across equipment categories and geographies to sustain momentum as the BSNL chapter closes.
To prosecute that strategy, Roy needs a full team around him. Preetham Uthaiah has been appointed chief operating officer, moving up from his current role as vice president of product management for wireless products at Tejas Networks. Uthaiah brings nearly 30 years of global experience spanning engineering, product management, and business development across India and the United States. Before joining Tejas Networks, he served as executive vice president of product management, marketing, and strategy at Saankhya Labs, and held senior roles at Tech Mahindra on both sides of the Atlantic. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University and a degree in electronics and communications from Karnatak University.
On the finance front, AVS Prasad has been approved as chief financial officer, effective May 16, 2026, succeeding Sumit Dhingra, who has resigned. Prasad, currently serving as finance controller at Tejas Networks, brings over 27 years of experience within the Tata Group across telecom, aerostructures, and defence. A company secretary and cost and management accountant by training, he has spent more than 15 years in senior finance roles including CFO and financial controller positions, with expertise spanning corporate finance, treasury management, regulatory compliance, internal audit, and governance.
New chief executive, new chief operating officer, new chief financial officer — all installed in a single move, at a moment when the company’s largest revenue source is drying up and the next chapter remains unwritten. Tejas Networks has placed its bets. Now it has to deliver.
