Broadband
June: Jio & ACT lead wireless, wired broadband subs growth
BENGALURU:MukeshAmbani’s Reliance Jio juggernaut continued leading growth in wireless broadband internet in the country nine months after its commercial launch on 5 September 2016. Jio has added 51.2 million subscribers in calendar year 2017 (CY-17) until 30 June 2017 (Jun-17) At the same time, ACT Broadband, probably the largest private wired internet service player in South India, continued to lead subscriber acquisitions in CY-17 with the addition of about 100,000 (0.1 million) broadband internet subscribers until Jun-17.
Wireless broadband numbers grew 9.14 million or 3.35 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) in Jun-17 to 281.99 million from 272.85 million in May-17 according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month of June 2017. Jio’s subscriber base grew by 13.68 percent in Jun-17.The top 5 wireless broadband service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd (123.36 million), Bharti Airtel (53.25 million), Vodafone (41.13 million), Idea Cellular (26.37 million) and Reliance Communications (13.54 million). Please refer to the figure below:
The figure below shows the m-o-m subscriber base growth of the top 5 service providers in India.
Top five broadband internet service providers constituted 89.08 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jun-17. The subscriber base of these service providers was Reliance JioInfocom Ltd (123.36 million), Bharti Airtel (55.34 million), Vodafone (41.14 million), Idea Cellular (26.37 million) and BSNL (21.76 million).
In the case of wired broadband subscribers, the all India subscriber base grew by 0.19 million or by 1.04 percent in CY-17 – from 18.14 million on 1 January 2017 to 18.33 million as on 30 June 2017.
As on 30 June 2017, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (9.73 million), Bharti Airtel (2.1 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.22 million), MTNL (0.98 million) and You Broadband (0.65 million). Among the top 5 wired broadband internet service providers the government run providers – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost subscribers, Airtel saw an increase of 10,000 subscribers, while ACT and You Broadband both gained subscribers in June 17 as compared to May 17. Please refer to the figure below.
It must be noted thatTRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
Multi-system operators (MSOs’) and Local cable operators (LCOs’) or cable video service providers also provide broadband internet services in the country. These cable service providers have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger than the numbers of some of the wired internet services providers mentioned above.
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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.
