Broadband
Nortel and Qualcomm claim industry’s fastest HSDPA data call
MUMBAI: Nortel and Qualcomm have successfully achieved the industry’s first 7.2 Mbps HSDPA mobile data calls. The tests achieved data downloads at speeds up to four times faster than most current fixed broadband connections, companies claimed in an official release.
According to the official communiqué, the companies completed the initial series of pre-commercial category 8 HSDPA data calls using test terminals based on Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem (MSM), MSM6280 solution and HSDPA network equipment from Nortel.
The calls covered frequencies in all commercially available UMTS spectrum currently used by mobile operators throughout the world. The 2100MHz spectrum is the basis for most European 3G networks and the 850MHz spectrum is now in use for new UMTS networks in North America, the Caribbean and Latin America. As spectrum at 900MHz is expanded for UMTS services, Nortel believes this can also become an important part of European HSDPA roll out.
“Nortel continues to be an industry leader in driving HSDPA technologies to faster, more cost-effective capabilities that will help power mobile communications to beyond 3G services such as high quality live TV and HD video on demand,” said Jean-Luc Jezouin, vice-president, GSM/UMTS product line management, Nortel. “Together with Qualcomm, Nortel is an industry pioneer in advancing the potential of HSDPA to help wireless operators maximize their existing UMTS infrastructures by offering new and faster services for subscribers.”
HSDPA is designed to boost network capacity for data transmissions up to four times and enables twice as many wireless users per cell site compared to current UMTS networks. By making more efficient use of existing network capabilities, HSDPA helps reduce operating costs while delivering a high quality end-user experience.
Nortel and Qualcomm will be demonstrating high-resolution video streaming enabled by HSDPA data calls at 7.2Mbps during CTIA Wireless 2006 in Las Vegas, 5 April to 7 April.
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.
