CloudExtel: Revolutionizing telecom infrastructure with Network-as-a-Service
Fate has been kind to Kunal Bajaj, CEO and co-founder, Excel Telesonic India Pvt Ltd, better known through its brand, CloudExtel, the first full cellular Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) provider. Steering through the various twists and turns of the telecom industry, Bajaj has today emerged as a force to be reckoned with, having grown with the fledgling industry since its infancy.
It all started in the USA. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Bajaj joined McKinsey & Co in the USA. His assignments were across diverse sectors including telecom, internet and financial services. His liking for telecom, an industry which he has been in for 25 years, also saw him heading the technology division of an internet marketing start-up in New York, which was amongst the top 10 globally in 2003
At that time, Telecom was just being rolled out in India. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was set up in 1997. Taking up an offer from TRAI for a consultative assignment for an initial period of six months, Bajaj was engrossed with the rapid pace of growth at which the industry was growing. Internet growth, getting a broadband licence, and building communities was also witnessed at close hand. Pradip Baijal, who became chairman in 2003, had “great insights into business and it was a great experience being part of his team,” said Bajaj, who got first-hand experience on how the fledgling industry was evolving. The initial six-month term had long since ended and destiny decided Bajaj would stay in India.
Before setting out to build CloudExtel, Bajaj also founded a wireless broadband venture and was India head of Consulting Firm Analysys Mason, which acquired the company he started. He also lead the go-to-market team at Reliance Jio and was instrumental in getting the company launch-ready and defining the services and features which would be provided to the end consumers in a bid to disrupt existing telecom players. At that time there were numerous telecom players operating in India including Idea Cellular, Essar-Hutchinson, BPL-Loop mobile, Airtel, Aircel, Singtel, Videocon, and Tata-Docomo. Post consolidation in the industry, only a handful remained. Jio, one of Reliance Industries’ late entrants, is now amongst the top two with Airtel, Idea-Vodafone and BSNL being the other major ones.
During the gold rush, while some of the miners did strike a bonanza, several others went virtually bankrupt panning gold in the hard environment. It was the vendors of pots and pans and other accessories who made a steady income and sustained their growth. Bajaj saw more opportunities in building networks for telecom companies. In 2014, CloudExtel started as a dark fibre leasing company in south Bombay. Bajaj recalls that “the way the services were being rolled out we saw an opportunity in fiberisation”.
Ashish Jalan is Director, Bombay Gas Company Limited. The launch of 3G saw Ashish, a fourth-generation entrepreneur, wanting to leverage the 400 km cast iron pipeline laid for the supply of natural gas by the Bombay Gas Company Ltd (BGCL) to South Mumbai residents by laying fibres to consumers. This ready-made infrastructure had been lying unused since 1982. Kunal and Ashish partnered to create what is CloudExtel today.
Data explosion
Quickly realising the growth potential for building infrastructure network, BGCL became a major stakeholder in CloudExtel. Data consumption was low but Bajaj said: “Data consumption was at a juncture where it was about to explode. We were the first provider to build small cellular micro-towers. Our aim was to address the most difficult part of the network stack beyond just towers. We wanted to build digital infrastructure that enables communities to grow and develop.”
With the focus on building Network as a Service Provider, CloudExtel has grown to focus on diverse verticals. Currently, it focuses on four verticals. It operates as a neutral host and has partnered with ISPs, Data Centre providers and large content providers. Tatas and Airtel are amongst their clients. In the small cell deployment, CloudExtel provides sites, electricity and last mile fibre for small cell backhaul. Besides digital infrastructure services such as Small Cell Hosting, CloudExtel provides Fibre to the Home (FTTH), Intra-City Fibre, & Virtualised Networks. They are amongst the second largest small cell providers in India. They utilise existing infrastructure such as the Bombay Gasline existing pipeline structure. “We own & operate networks that address critical points of network stress, facilitate sharing, & adopt emerging diverse network technologies.”
In anticipation of data consumption growth, CloudExtel focusses on capacity densification through small cells and backhaul. Recently CloudExtel provided connectivity in the KumbMela through their small cells hoisted at strategic places. It also provides last mile enterprise connectivity, uprating from wireless to fibre, working with partners such as SIFY, Railtel and Power Grid Corporation of India.
Given the huge capital deployment required in laying out infrastructure, CloudExtel attracted Macquarie Capital and Advencap Cap to come in as a strategic investors. CloudExtel was valued at $100 million, providing an exit to the owners of Bombay Gas Co Ltd. “They invested the same capital in 18 months that we invested over the last 8 years,” points out Bajaj. Last year, in 2024, they secured funds from NIIF Infrastructure Finance and Aditya Birla Finance Ltd to the tune of Rs200 crore.
The company is one of the associate members of the Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), which represents India’s digital infrastructure players that develop, build, own, & operate the nation’s wireless infrastructure. Given its strong focus on providing innovative solutions, CloudExtel is certainly a company to watch.