Broadband
Fortinet deploys over 500 WiFi locations across Mumbai
MUMBAI: Fortinet, a leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, has announced that the Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation (MITC) has selected Fortinet to provide wireless Internet access to the citizens of Mumbai, India.
Fortinet’s access points provide WiFi Internet access for the public in Mumbai and are deployed in more than 500 locations across the city for the Mumbai WiFi project. The WiFi network is also planned to be used for smart transportation in the near future. This deployment is part of the state government’s digital empowerment program, and Fortinet beat several other enterprise wireless providers to win the deal. Fortinet is uniquely able to support the technical implementation of this project with its wireless R&D center in Bangalore.
In the first phase of the Mumbai WiFi project, the Maharashtra Government has deployed a combination of Fortinet indoor and outdoor access points with omnidirectional antennas, wireless controllers, and a wireless manager to provide simplified deployment and scaling, voice mobility, and the high performance needs required.
Digital Empowerment of Mumbai
Mumbai is home to 20.5 million people and is the commercial capital and the largest city in India. The Government of Maharashtra launched the Mumbai WiFi project to cover all major areas in the city with public WiFi hotspots to ensure that government services are available online to its citizens. Later this year, the WiFi network will also be used for smart parking and smart transportation, by providing real-time updates on the routes and available capacity of various modes of public transport in the city. The introduction of WiFi hotspots in Mumbai expands on the government’s vision of making Maharashtra the country’s first digital state.
Fortinet Secure Access Solution
Securing public communications over WiFi, such as personal information, financial transactions, and mobile device data sharing, involves much more than simply managing network access control. As organizations change the way they deploy access networks, connect devices, and the number and types of network-connected wireless devices and mobile applications grows exponentially, IT leaders must deal with the difficult task of balancing the requirements of network security with the flexibility to onboard a growing number and diversity of clients.
Users want fast WiFi and a smooth experience across wired or wireless networks and IT leaders need reduced complexity of network management, application management, and device management. Typical WiFi solutions cannot satisfactorily address these requirements. Fortinet’s Secure Access solution delivers three WLAN deployment options to meet the different WLAN requirements of today’s enterprises. In addition to WLAN services, our complete secure access portfolio also provides the most flexible security with end-to-end enforcement enabled by the Fortinet Security Fabric.
Maharashtra’s principal secretary – information technology Vijay Kumar Gautam says: “With the Mumbai WiFi project, our goal was to cover all major areas in the city with public WiFi in order to make important government services available online. Because of the hyper-connected nature of our public infrastructure today, an ambitious project like this requires technology that can scale and be flexible to enable more users, devices, and applications over time.”
Fortinet SVP – products and solutions John Maddison says: “BYOD and the Internet of Things (IoT) are creating new attack vectors that put critical assets within public or private networks at risk. As more users, devices, and applications are added to WiFi networks, organizations need secure, enterprise-class WiFi that can deliver a superior experience for all users. Secure access needs to extend consistent security policies to the very edge of the network where most vulnerabilities target. Security cannot happen at the expense of high-availability, speed and density of coverage which are all must-haves in a public WiFi network.”
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.
