Broadband
Broadband: Jio leads wireless; Hathway enters top-five list
BENGALURU: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio) continued expanding its subscriber base one year after launch as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for September 2017 (Sep-17, as on 30 September 2017, month under review). The wireless broadband internet subscriber base in India grew by 8.41 million to which Jio added 70 percent or 5.94 million subscribers during the month.
The heavily indebted Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications Limited (RCom), which will shut voice call services from 1 December 2017, continued to lose wireless broadband internet subscribers in Sep-17. RCom lost 1.89 million subscribers during the period under review.
In the meantime, the wireline broadband internet subscriber base in the country continued the decline that commenced in July-17. Wireline broadband internet subscriber base in India fell by 0.106 million in September 2017 to 18.04 million from 18.11 million at the end of August 2017.
Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) entered the list of top five wireline broadband internet service providers in the country at fifth place with an internet subscriber base of 0.67 million. It displaced You Broadband which had a subscriber base of 0.66 million as on 31 August 2017.
Among the top five wireline broadband services providers in the country from the August 2017 list, only Bharati Airtel (Airtel) which is ranked second added 0.01 million subscribers to reach wireline internet subscriber bases of 2.12 million. The third largest wireline internet player in India and probably the largest private sector player in South India- Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) reported no change in its August 2017 internet subscriber base of 1.24 million.
The fall in wireline internet subscribers was once again led by the public sector government telecom companies – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL). The former lost 0.06 million subscribers, while the latter lost 0.01 million in September 2017. The largest wireline internet player in terms of subscribers, BSNL, closed September 2017 with a wireline internet subscriber base of 9.54 million, while its smaller public sector peer closed the month with a subscriber base of 0.95 million. MTNL is the fourth largest wireline internet services provider in the country in terms of subscriber base.
Overall broadband internet service providers
The top five broadband service providers (wireless and wireline) constituted 91.64 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Sep-17. These service providers were Jio (138.62 million), Airtel (62.29 million), Vodafone (45.98 million), Idea Cellular (29.61 million) and BSNL (21.24 million).
Top five wireless broadband internet service providers
As on 30 September 2017, the top five wireless broadband service providers were Jio (138.62 million), Airtel (60.17 million), Vodafone (45.97 million), Idea Cellular (29.61 million) and Reliance Communications (8.98 million).
After Jio, Vodafone added the second largest number of wireless subscribers – 2.42 million or 28.5 percent of the total subscribers added in September 2017. Airtel added 21.4 million or the third largest number of wireless subscribers (25.2 percent while Idea cellular added 0.15 million wireless internet subscribers.
Other broadband internet service providers
Multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) or cable video service providers also provide wired broadband internet services in the country. These cable service providers have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger than the numbers of some of the wired internet services providers mentioned above. However, it must be noted that some of these MSOs and LCOs could have lost subscribers in September 2017, considering the fact that the top five wired broadband internet services providers have lost only 0.05 million of the 0.106 million wireline internet subscribers in September 2017.
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.
