Broadband
Hong Kong Broadband Network launches pay-TV service
HONG KONG: Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) has launched a new pay-TV service. The endeavour is aimed at realising the “triple-play” strategy, thus bringing a significant breakthrough in the local telecommunications industry.
HKBN has stated that having an advanced and reliable network platform is one of the competitive edges it possesses. An official release informs that currently, HKBN provides broadband Internet access and local telephony services on its self-constructed network.
The pay-TV service of HKBN now delivers 11 TV channels. Of them, Chinese language channels – including a 24X7 news channel, movies, religious, Chinese opera and BBC – dominates.
According to the viewership report of a local pay-TV operator, news channel ran up to be the most welcomed channel, counting for approximately half of the viewership, followed by movie channel with a 30 per cent viewership.
Indeed, HKBN has taken aim at the preference of the audience by launching a 24-hour news channel and a movie channel. They will target not just on the niche market, but also the needs for the massive market.
HKBN has used advanced technology to add new elements to the service. The release adds that differing from traditional pay-TV service, the new service allows customers to enjoy a variety by offering 11 interactive application channels.
These include weather reports, real-time text news, stock quote and finance news, shopping, TV games, sending and receiving e-mails and SMS, useful telephone numbers and accessing information of accounts.
Crucial to HKBN’s strategy is the launch of a unique public channel “See You On TV Tonight!”. This allows customers to lodge their videos on the company’s TV platform. A variety of videos can be placed, including (but not limited) to product/service advertising, product description, personal selling and family videos .
Another unique feature of HKBN’s pay-TV service is that it is connection-enabled to a personal computer or a TV with the aid of set-top box. In addition, the visual quality, which is transmitted by MPEG-2 4.5M to 10M, is comparable to DVD visuals.
Even if customers do not have a personal computer, simple web applications can be applied with the complimentary set-top box upon registration of HKBN’s pay-TV service.
In fact, the functionality of the set-top box is somewhat similar to a computer, as it possesses an IBM 252MHz PowerPC Chip Set, 32MB SDRAM and 128KB ROM, supporting Linux, JavaScript, Flash and Internet browser, and possessing interface to 10/100BaseT Ethernet, the release states.
At the early stage of service launch, HKBN will commence the service from Kwai Tsing districts. However, it targets to extend to 300,000 to 500,000 households, including Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Tsing Yi and most areas in New Territories.
Regarding channel contents, HKBN will continue to strike for diversification to fully utilise network capacity.
HKBN chairman Ricky Wong said, ” The competition of pay-TV business determines by three major factors: contents, tariff and applications. The existing penetration rate in Hong Kong is approximately 30 per cent, which is relatively low compared to other Asian districts like Taiwan, which is around 90 per cent. Therefore, we believe the market potential can be substantial and able to cater for more new operators.”
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.
