Broadband
Govt identifies broadband and mobile networks as key growth pillars
NEW DELHI: The government has identified broadband and mobile networks as the key growth pillars to achieve its targets under the digital India programmme.
It identified two areas of growth: broadband and mobile in untapped areas where the Telecom Ministry wants to spend more funds. It started allocating more finance for the initiative and the government is trying to achieve its targets in advance.
The government has enhanced expenditure on broadband network to connect all 2,50,000 village panchayats to Rs 32,000 crore against Rs 20,000 crore approved by the previous government, according to a PTI report.
The BJP government is also trying to advance deadline to finish roll out of national optical fibre network (NOFN) to December 2016 from the earlier announced date of March 2017.
Recently, TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar criticised the delay in executing NOFN project, saying private sector companies should be part of such large projects.
The Indian government has earmarked Rs 16,000 crore to provide mobile connectivity to approximately 42,300 villages that still don’t have any network coverage. The deadline to offer mobile connectivity in these unconnected villages is 2018.
The BJP government has decided to create national information infrastructure at a cost of Rs 15,686 crore. The project will include integration of existing programmes like the National Knowledge Network (NKN) and NOFN.
Under the National Rural Internet Mission, government has earmarked fund of Rs 4750 crore to roll out common service centres (CSCs) across 2.5 lakh villages.
Through CSCs, people in rural area get access to government services like birth certificate, train tickets, pay various fees etc without actually having to visit the concerned office. The CSCs are present at about 1.3 lakh locations.
Besides this, the union government has earmarked Rs 200 crore to train one crore students in small towns and villages for IT sector jobs over period of next five years.
UPA government had started NKN to connect 1,500 universities with high speed broadband network.
The NDA government has decided to provide wi-fi at all universities in the country with an estimated cost of Rs 790 crore by the end of next year.
Under digital India programme, government has decided to spend Rs 98 crore on secure email, which will now be the primary mode of communications, for official communications.
At present 10 lakh government employees have been moved to secure email communication and by March 2015 around 50 lakh employees will be moved on to the new system.
The union cabinet on Wednesday approved the digital India programme that deals with all projects involving IT and communication technology like e-governance and broadband connectivity. The initial cost of the project, to be implemented over the next five years, is estimated at Rs 1,13,000 crore.
The Digital India programme has various other provisions which include wi-fi hotspots at public places, e-books for schools, national portal for lost and found children, biometric attendance at government offices for which funds are yet to be finalised.
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.
