Pankaj Singh, Regional Head, India and SAARC, Spirent Communications

Pankaj Singh, regional head, India and SAARC, Spirent Communications, has over 20 years of professional experience in the telecom domain. Prior to joining Spirent, Singh wor­ked with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, Nokia, Comm­Scope, Tata and Wipro.

In his current role, Singh focuses primarily on driving sales. A passionate salesperson, Singh believes that sale is a by-­product of customer value creation and focuses on building long­-term, trust-based relationships. “My key strength is a trust-centric long-term approach backed by passion, perseverance, technology expertise, understanding of the Indian telecom market, problem-solving skills and a natural ability to build relationships,” says Singh. He describes his management style as “lead by example”.

Singh believes that 5G will bring the next big wave of telecom transformation. It will not just add value to traditional telco customers but also pave the way for a more sustainable future in areas such as: mining, manufacturing, e-health and connected vehicles. “5G will bring new capabilities that create opportunities for new domains while private 5G will also be instrumental in all wireless networks. Other key trends that we see is the mandatory testing of equipment and devices, as suggested by the DoT, which can pave the way for the creation of new test labs that are world class and offer innovative test and assurance solutions,” he says.

According to Singh, the biggest opportunity in the service providers’ domain is to support 5G-driven engagements and 5G testing. “The challenge for service providers is monetisation of 5G investments in the world’s most price-sensitive telecom market, with ARPUs of around $3,” he notes.

An electronics and communications engineer with an MBA in strategy, Singh finds the system integrators (SI) domain particularly exciting and encouraging. “SIs are embarking on a new journey and we, being a trusted technology partner, are enabling them with global best testing practices,” he says.

Although each role and assignment has been critical to his career growth and development, Singh specifically recalls bagging the first 5G testing business from a large communication service provider (CSP) in 2020 as his most memorable assignment. “While 5G was just evolving in this region, the CSP showed gr­e­at trust in our test and validation solution,” he says.

When not working, Singh likes to spend time with family and friends. His family compri­ses his parents, wife and their eight-year-old daughter. “My family is the pillar of my stren­gth,” he says.