Tejas Networks' D2M tech gaining ground, in talks with global players

Globally, we are in talks with a couple of operators, but those negotiations are at fairly initial stages of understanding the technology, said Arnab Roy

Tejas Networks, a telecom gear maker backed by the Tata group, is in talks with international players for providing its direct-to-mobile (D2M) technology, which it has built in-house, even as it looks to commercially launch the service with Prasar Bharati, said co-founder, Executive Director, and Chief Operating Officer Arnab Roy in an exclusive interaction with Business Standard.

 

“Trials with Prasad Bharati have been going on successfully for some time in one city and they are going to expand to other places. The government, Prasad Bharati, and other regulators are working to determine the strategy for the rollout of this technology,” Roy said.

 

The Bengaluru-based BSE-listed company’s subsidiary, Saankhya Labs, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, has built the hardware and software that allow live TV, video, audio, text content, including emergency alerts, to be directly broadcast on to mobile phones without the need for an internet connection. It uses terrestrial TV broadcasting airwaves.

 

The company earlier this year tied up with Intel to use its chips to provide the same capability in laptops.

 

Being developed under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, D2M service is for rural or remote areas, and is expected to be rolled out next year, with commercial launches by next December.

 

At present, stakeholder consultations are going on.

 

“Part of it (deployment) is going to be investment by the government. Globally, we are in talks with a couple of operators in other regions which are interested in this technology. Those talks are at initial stages of understanding the technology and the benefit that it brings,” Roy added.

 

Tactically crucial to the Tata group of companies as a provider of locally made secure telecom network equipment, Tejas has set its sights on becoming a multi-billion dollar revenue generator, for which at least half its revenues have to come from global markets, in three to five years, up from about a fifth.

 

The company’s overall revenues touched $1 billion in FY25.

 

Asked about the company’s plan on tariffs imposed by Mexico on Indian exports, Roy said the company was evaluating the impact. It exports to Mexico wireline products, which is a fraction of its international business.

 

The company is hopeful of a trade agreement between the two countries.

 

“We are part of the strategic future of the group, and partnerships with the rest of the group (companies) are going to be very critical,” he added, noting its partnership with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was likely to provide great value internationally. TCS and Tejas are partners for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd’s (BSNL’s) 4G service, in which the public-sector carrier is deploying Tejas gear on nearly 100,000 towers. Having deployed 97,000 sites in Phase-I of the deployment, the company is expecting a purchase order of 20,000 plus sites for the upcoming second phase. Having built its own 4G/ 5G stack, Tejas is aiming for BSNL’s 5G rollout, which will be a separate tender.

 

The company has outlined levers of artificial intelligence and data centres driving growth. The company supplies equipment to operators connected to the hyperscalers such as Microsoft, AWS, or Google, for connectivity between the data centres across multiple locations, called data centre interconnect. With billions being announced in AI data centres coming up in India, the opportunity for the company has only grown.

 

“We are also looking at networking, which is connectivity within data centres,” Roy added.

 

The government’s increased efforts at incentivising companies that “make in India” for India and for global markets are going to be another growth driver.

 

Tejas Networks is part of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for local telecom manufacturing and its products have received “trusted source” certification from the National Security Directive on the telecom sector.

 

On the question of its recent dispute with Bharti Airtel, Roy said the company was working with BSNL and Airtel to resolve the interference issue faced in the Rajasthan circle earlier this month. “We’re compliant with global norms. The resolution is between BSNL and Airtel, and we are supporting them with whatever assistance is needed,” Roy added.