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Broadband seminar in Delhi on Thursday
NEW DELHI: With the government committed to support a broadband thrust and a state area-wide network for data transmission reaching out to the interior, telecom services are poised for a big thrust in different areas like distance education, tele-medicine, e-governance, entertainment and employment generation.
The target set is three million broadband subscribers in the new year, of which two million would be through franchisees of the state-controlled telecom companies, BSNL/MTNL.
The public sector telecom service companies have already advertised for tenders for franchising their broadband services over their existing copper networks using DSL technology. The response has been good and the new year should see launch of these services over a wide swath of the country.
In the private sector Reliance already had announced they would have dedicated broadband services for business. They are planning connectivity to major urban buildings.
With vast business opportunities lying in the broadband sector, which, of course, still experiences technical and financial problems, a seminar on broadband, `Broadband Tech India 2004, is scheduled to open here tomorrow.
Organised by Bharat Exhibitions, the seminar would provide an in-depth examination of broadband technology developments, deployments, challenges, services, and applications with particular relevance to the Indian market. The focus will be on analyzing the business case and real-world experiences of leading service providers.
Dayanidhi Maran, minister for communications & IT will inaugurate the conference, while Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman Pradip Baijal will be the guest of honour at the conference.
Some of the key speakers include Arun Kumar Saxena, member (services), department of telecom, SD Saxena, director (finance) of BSNL, PK Garg, wireless advisor, Wireless Planning & Coordination in the communication ministry, Arpita Pal Agrawal, senior manager of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, K Krishna, senior director (marketing) of Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd, Prasad Babu, SE manager,India & SAARC from Juniper Networks and Sujata Dev, director impact & content advisor of Shaf Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
Zee Business news channel is a broadcast partner.
Headed by Shashi Dharan, Bharat Exhibitions organizes internationally recognized exhibitions and conferences in the areas of broadcast and multimedia, satellite & space technologies, telecommunications, computing & networking and banking technologies
MUMBAI: When margins wobble, liquidity talks and in Q3 FY25-26, cash did most of the talking. Den Networks Limited closed the December quarter with consolidated revenue of Rs.251 crore, marginally higher than the previous quarter but down 4 per cent year-on-year, even as profitability stayed resilient on the back of strong cash reserves and disciplined cost control.
Subscription income softened to Rs.98 crore, slipping 3 per cent sequentially and 14 per cent from last year, while placement and marketing income offered some cheer, rising 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs.148 crore. Total costs climbed faster than revenue, up 7 per cent QoQ to Rs.238 crore, driven largely by higher content costs and operating expenses. As a result, EBITDA dropped sharply to Rs.13 crore from Rs.19 crore in Q2 and Rs.28 crore a year ago, pulling margins down to 5 per cent.
Yet, the bottom line refused to blink. Profit after tax stood at Rs.40 crore, up 15 per cent sequentially and only marginally lower than last year’s Rs.42 crore. A healthy Rs.57 crore in other income helped cushion operating pressure, keeping profit before tax at Rs.48 crore, broadly stable quarter-on-quarter despite the tougher cost environment.
The real headline-grabber, however, sits on the balance sheet. The company remains debt-free, with cash and cash equivalents swelling to Rs.3,279 crore as of December 31, 2025. Net worth rose to Rs.3,748 crore, while online collections accounted for 97 per cent of total receipts, underscoring strong cash discipline across operations, including subsidiaries.
In short, while Q3 showed signs of operating strain, the financial backbone remains solid. With zero gross debt, steady profits and a formidable cash war chest, the company enters the next quarter with flexibility firmly on its side proving that in uncertain markets, balance sheet strength can be the best growth strategy.
