Broadband
MTNL to invest Rs 4 billion for broadband platform, Ericsson wins bid as systems integrator
MUMBAI: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. is getting ready to play the triple game – video streaming, voice services and high-speed Internet access.
The state-run organisation has selected multinational giant Ericsson as the systems integrator to build the platform, while rejecting seven other bidders including Alcatel, UTStarcom and HFCL.
MTNL plans to invest Rs 4 billion over the next one year as it targets 14 lakh broadband customers in Mumbai and Delhi. In the first phase, the company will invest Rs 1 billion within six months. “We are targeting 2 lakh ports each in Mumbai and Delhi within six months. We expect to launch our service by December-end or mid-January,” says MTNL executive director, Mumbai, RL Dube.
For the second phase, MTNL will pump in Rs 3 billion and install 1 million ports. “The pipe will be ready. We will offer high-speed Internet on our own. For content, we will have a franchisee model,” says Dube.
Ericsson quoted the lowest cost in a tender floated by MTNL. “We decided on Ericsson two weeks back. The other bidders were quoting higher. ITI Ltd. participated along with Alcatel but we rejected them on technical grounds as they were offering old models,” says Dube.
Unlike state-owned BSNL which went for the franchisee model, MTNL opted to directly invest in building the systems platform for triple play. BSNL had selected Bangalore-based I-Spatial to provide broadband services on its network. The experiment has not been successful and I-Spatial’s investments are locked.
“We are in a position to spend money ourselves. The investment required is not huge. Besides, the franchisee model is not working,” says Dube.
MTNL plans to provide a wide range of broadband services using its copper loop network. Several other telecom operators have also announced their plans to foray into triple play.
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.
