Broadband
Plan panel puts rural thrust in broadband plan
NEW DELHI: Allow full triple play to all rural broadband service provider; throw in some tax sops and ensure development of appropriate content in regional languages.
These are some of the ingredients that a Planning Commission panel, studying the development and expansion of information and communication technology (ICT), would like to have in the recipe for a nationwide rollout of broadband services in the country. Especially with a focus on the rural market.
“To effect the (nationwide) rollout, we need to light up the optical fibre and ensure development of the last mile connectivity,” a Planning Commission panel in a draft report on communications, including ICT connectivity, has observed.
Planning Commission is a government think-tank on economic policies and had set up the ICT panel last year with a view to build a modern and efficient telecommunication infrastructure to meet the convergence of telecom, IT and the media.
According to the draft note — a copy of which is available with indiantelevision.com — circulated amongst members and some other government organisation, for a cost-effective and quick broadband rollout “wireless technology seems to be more suited.”
The plan panel draft paper also suggests that appropriate spectrum should be delicenced, including the 5.15-5.35 Ghz for Wi-fi and Wi max technology.
Amongst other measures being discussed by Planning Commission as part of its mid-term review of the 10th Five-Year Plan of the telecom ICT sector, which focuses more on rural spread out, following initiatives have been highlighted: As existing service providers may not be interested in rural areas, the future model for operations may have to be based on the one suggested in the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which includes niche players being either franchisees of the incumbent (state-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. being the dominant player) or independent operators registered with the government.
Providing necessary support from the Universal Service Obligation (USO) fund if needed for sharing part of the capital cost and bearing costs of bandwidth for the initial five years period. Providing matching funds for USO Fund to rural youth to set up broadband kiosk along with arranging concessional funds from banks. Using post offices as retail outlets for broadband kiosks/service delivery points keeping in view the countrywide reach of the Indian postal network. To attract operators, the entry and service conditions have to be promotional. The need for finalizing a legal, institutional and regulatory modalities of opening up of broadband services in rural areas quickly has been emphasized upon too.
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.
