Broadband
Broadband is the key to the future
NEW DELHI: India is the investment destination for converged broadband services and the next generation network experts, concluded at the 12th Convergence India 2004 international exhibition and conference.
They felt that policy positioning would have to be looked into from the requirements of the users, service providers, home and mass entertainment segments. Affordability and accessibility of services would be the key issues in the future.
The three-day exhibition and conference with the participation of over 270 exhibitors from 23 countries concluded here today.
“This event reminds me of some of the regional meets that ITU organizes, if not in extent definitely in its impact and content”, said Dr.D.P.S.Seth, member, TRAI, chairing a day-long discussion on Voice over IP products and
technologies.
“The collapsing distance is changing tariff evaluation making long distance and local calls distinction irrelevant”, Dr. Seth said as 3ComIndia, 3D Networks, Veraz Networks, Audio Codes, Vocal Tec and others explained the significance of converging IP networks carrying both voice and data.
The three-day event debated a range of issues like broadband, mobility, new business models, new sources of revenue, regulatory and policy issues, new generation networks and services, access technologies, satellite communications, broadcast technologies, billing and CRM and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).The 12th Convergence India 2004 also outlined a roadmap for future policy position based on the deliberations. Participants felt that India today provided level playing field conditions and enabling environment for absorbing new technology and new investment propositions.
Broadband was the key to future. This was a global phenomenon and India has to keep pace with the international development.
The participation of several telecom companies from China, Korea, the USA and technology companies from Israel and France, providing a variety of products in broadband, broadcasting and their convergence, bringing together voice, data and video was the highlight of the event.
Korea Telecom, a global player in broadband services for both home and offices participated in the event with a high-powered delegation led by its president and CEO, Dr. Yong-Kyung Lee. Over 11million Korean households use broadband now and over KT provides half of it, he said.
Driving the coming broadband convergence, BSNL, the government owned largest telecom service provider in this country has already signed an agreement with KT for promoting broadband on its copper cables spanning the country.
New chipsets produced by technology leader Qualcomm are at the core of some of the new converged services on mobile phones. Tata Tele Services and Qualcomm group signed an MOU on push-to-talk service on mobile phones was hailed as another indicator of the many new services that were converging on mobile in the coming months in the country.
In other developments, Trango Broadband appointed Micro Village as its authorized agent for the SAARC region to distribute fixed wireless technology for last mile broadband access. All of Tango’s last mile wireless Ethernet distribution products and video transmission solutions will be offered by Micro Village effective immediately with local stock, compliance with regulatory requirements and local technical support in many of India’s native languages.
Listing the advantages of Code Division Multiple Access system in providing affordable connectivity with high data rate for both urban and rural users, Dr. Joseph Shapira, founder chairman of technology company Celletra
presented some of the new products for network management, like Call Sharper for load balancing, Smart Chester for integrated measurement and control system. “CDMA outperforms all others,” he claimed giving the technology perspective on the system.
Scientific Atlanta, as always bullish on India, said it would be working in partnerships with cable and telecom operators in India, and bring new services on their networks. A spokesman said the operators need more sources of revenue to afford these services. The objective is to build interactivity to the last mile.
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.
