Broadband
125 million mobile users to access TV by 2010
MUMBAI: Research group Informa Telecoms and Media predicts that there will be 124.8 million broadcast mobile TV users worldwide by 2010.
An inflection point is expected in 2009 as network rollout and device availability allow for the market to reach some level of critical mass. This data is contained in a report titled Mobile TV: Broadcast And Mobile Multimedia.
According to the report for the next few years, the most advanced networks will be S-DMB and T-DMB services, dominating broadcast TV handset sales worldwide from its strongholds of South Korea and Japan. By 2010, there will be 18.11 million terrestrial DMB subscribers, compared with 15.02 million satellite DMB users worldwide.
Despite its slow start, DVB-H will become the dominant format in 2008, reaching significant levels worldwide reaching 74.03 million users by 2010, equating to almost 60 per cent of all broadcast mobile TV users.
In terms of devices, the market is forecast to grow from a total of 0.13 million units in 2005 to 83.5 million by 2010. In comparison with mobile video-capable phones, broadcast handset sales will be outstripped by almost 5-to-1 by 2010.
Whilst the mobile TV industry is beginning to generate interest from many sectors of the mobile and broadcast industries, including mobile operators, handset vendors, broadcasters and content providers, there are still a number of issues and problems that need to be resolved.
The biggest hurdles include regulation, capacity and spectrum planning. At the heart of the mobile TV industry is the tussle between broadcast and cellular networks to find the optimum solution for all players to benefit in an extremely complex business model. The degree to which these networks will become either competitive or complementary will ultimately determine the fate of market.
Collaboration between players will be crucial to leverage on the potential for interactive TV services, which although being somewhat lacklustre in the digital TV arena has the potential to be a real driver behind mobile TV services and revenue generation.
The success opf mobile television will also depend on the availability of desirable, popular content to the end user which will depend to a large extent on how fast consumers adopt the services and devices. There is a definite need for the industry to decide on what formats will work for users while they are on the move and what services will be attractive to mobile subscribers, bearing in mind current viewing habits.
This is further dependent on the availability of quality handsets, providing users with a large high resolution colour display, a good user interface, and lasting battery life. mobile content providers need to note that there is a flip side to But charging users for broadcast mobile TV content. The provision of TV channels in these broadcast models has a bearing on how TV content should be charged for, bearing in mind that a number of channels currently available in the digital TV space are “free-to-air” and others can be advertising-supported.
The report notes that the most likely charging scenarios of subscription or pay-per-view will be easier to implement in partnership with mobile operators who already have a billing relationship with the end-user, but the principles of how content is handled in the public broadcasting and mobile spheres are very different owing to certain criteria set on breadth and quality of content.
It cannot be disputed that in many major markets worldwide TV is a large part of many peoples’ daily lives and mobile subscriber penetration in a number of markets has reached, if not even surpassed, a high saturation level. Due to this the subsequent convergence of the broadcast and mobile industries, broadcast mobile TV has undoubted potential, with interactive TV and the extension of advertising at the forefront of that success.
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.
