Broadband
Middling broadband subscriber growth in November 2019
BENGALURU: Overall broadband internet subscribers in India grew by 1.719 crore or 2.67 percent in the month ended 30November 2019 (Nov-19) from the numbers reported by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for the month ended 30 October 2019 (Oct-19). Trai had reported 64.408 crore (644.48 million or 6,440.8 lakh) broadband internet subscribers across all segments for Oct-19. This number grew to 66.127 crore (661.27 million or 6,612.7 lakh) in Nov-19 as per the latest numbers published by Trai.
Subscriber growth for Nov-19 was the fifth highest over a 23 month period starting Jan-18 until Nov-19 in absolute numbers. In percentage terms, Nov-19 saw the twelfth highest growth during the same period. Over the period under consideration in the paper, broadband internet subscriber growth has been on a decline as is evident from the black trend line the graph below:
The figure below shows the subscriber growth ranking for the months during the period under consideration in this paper in terms of absolute growth numbers as well as percentage terms.
Trai data reveals that broadband subscribers grew by 1.713 crore (1.713 million or 171.3 lakh) or 2.74 percent to 64.154crore (641.54 million, 6,415.4 lakh) in Nov-19 from 62.441 crore (624.41 million or 6,244.1 lakh) in Oct-19 on the Mobiles (Phones and dongles) segment. Wired broadband internet segment grew by 0.005 crore (0.05 million or 0.05 lakh) or 0.28 percent in Nov-19 to 1.913 crore(19.13 million or 191.3 lakh) from 1.908 crore (19.08 million or 190.8 lakh) in Oct-19. Fixed wireless – WiFi, WiMax, Point to Pont, Radio, Vsat subscribers grew 0.001 crore (0.01 million or 0.1 lakh) or 0.47 percent to 0.06 crore (0.6 million or 6 lakh) in Nov-19 from 0.059 crore (0.59 million or 5.9 lakh) in the previous month.
Please refer to the figure below.
Top 5 Broadband Internet Subscribers
Top five service providers constituted 98.99 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Nov-19. These service providers were Reliance Jio
Infocomm Ltd with 37.076 crore (370.76 million, 3,707.6 lakh) subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 13.992 (139.92 million, 1,399.2 lakh) subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 11.989 crore (119.89 million, 1,198.9 lakh) subscribers, BSNL with 2.254 crore (22.54 million, 225.4 lakh) subscribers and Atria Convergence with 0.15 crore (1.50 million, 15 lakh) subscribers.
Top 5 Wireless broadband Internet Subscribers
As on 30th November, 2019, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd with 36.993 crore (369.93 million, 3,699.3 lakh) subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 13.751 crore (137.51 million, 1,375.1 lakh) subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 11.987 crore (119.87 million, 1,198.7 lakh)BSNL with 1.402 crore (14.02 million, 140.2 lakh) and MTNL 0.02 crore (0.20 million, 2 lakh).
Top 5 Wired broadband Internet Subscribers
As on 30th November, 2019, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL with 0.851 crore (8.51 million, 85.1 lakh) subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 0.241 crore (2.41 million, 24.1 lakh) subscribers, Atria Convergence Technologies with 0.15 crore (1.50 million, 15 lakh) subscribers, Hathway Cable & Datacom with 0.088 crore (0.88 million, 8.8 lakh) subscribers and Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd with 0.083 crore (0.83 million, 8.3 lakh).Reliance JioInfocomm Limited was a new entrant to the top 5 list in October 2019. It replaced You Broadband which had 0.075 crore (0.75 million or 7.9 lakh) broadband internet subscribers in Sep-19. BSNL lost wired broadband internet subscribers in Nov-19.
The top 5 wired broadband internet service providers lost 40,000 subscribers in Nov-19. Since the wired internet broadband subscriber base grew by 50,000 during the same period, other smaller service providers which include MSOs and LCOs must have added 90,000 subscribers in Nov-19.
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.
