Broadband
Broadband Pacenet braces itself for the convergence era
MUMBAI: Convergence in the country is going to be a reality sooner than later. Broadband services provider Broadband Pacenet is coming out with its latest project in May and involves the television set being used as a computer as well.
The company will launch its set top box Home Genie.
Addressing a small media gathering this afternoon Broadband Pacenet India chairman Jagjit Singh Kohli said, ” In the first year we expect to sell a minimum of a million units. Right now we are talking with all the parties in the industry including the MSOs, broadcasters. It is a TV plus device and not a computer minus product. Out targetted consumers are those who cannot afford a computer or who are unfamiliar with it. Right now we are testing 1000 boxes. We are expecting revenue growth to the tune of 500 per cent for the company. Before too long the number of consumers with set top boxes will outnumber those with computers. Among other things the box allows people to send emails, surf, watch television and play online games. “
The box uses royalty free open standard conditional access technology for an internet environment called Secura. Kohli added that the Cas imbroglio would never have happened had the government mandated that an open standard be used. He added that the government was making the same mistake with DTH by insisting that all the boxes use a DVBCI interface. This pushes up the cost of the boxes. In fact Pacenet is meeting the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India tomorrow on this very issue.
” Of course Home Genie box can also be used with NDS, Canal Plus or any of the other pay TV technologies. These technologies are most unreliable. They get hacked within a couple of years and the consumer gets gypped with promises of a more secure advanced version. In fact none of the six pay television technology companies offer any guarantee that their products will not get hacked in the future. The cost to install those technologies runs into millions of dollars. So it is a racket that is basically going on with the companies trading piracy allegations against one another”
The Home Genie box will initially be priced at Rs. 5000. As more features like personal video recording are added the price will go up to a maximum of Rs. 8000. However as volumes increase the price will come down Kohli added. One of the unique features of Home Genie is that it has both the ethernet network and coxial cable. This means that both cable systems and DTH satellite will work. It wil have a 40bps downstream pipe along with a 100mbps two way interactive pipe. It also has a peoplemeter built in to it. In this way Pacenet can work out promotional deals with broadcasters as they will have an exact idea of how much their channels are being watched.
Talking about Reliance which recently made a huge presentation at the Frames Convention Kohli said, ” Reliance’s STB does not have the coxial interface as yet. They are trying to provide everything like data, voice and video through ethernet. While they are working on IPTV the fact is that IP for video is evolving more for services like video on demand. So far simulating cable TV on an IP platform has not been done anywhere in the world. It will take time for Reliance to get there. For us the advantage is that cable internet is already there in most homes in Mumbai. All we are doing is laying an ethernet network over it. With Reliance the whole infrastructure will have to be over hauled. In fact if a cable operator ties up with a telco he will be rendered redundant as his existing equipment will not be used.”
Kohli also said that unlike Reliance the company did not have to worry about laying fibre optic cables throughout the country thanks to the recent tie up with Ipstar. This is the worlds first two way satellite system and provides a two way IP link. This will allow Pacenet to reach any part of the country.
Coming back to Home Genie Kohli said that it also serves as a home banking terminal. The card was developed by Zero a consortium which develops solutions for smart card payments. RBI and SBI have given the product their consent. The card has money on the chip itself, which ensures that the money only travels locally. It can also work as a credit and debit card by accessing your bank account. Once the transaction has been authenticated the card returns to its original place.
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.
