How Aircom is Powering Operator Success Across APAC & the Middle East
An interview with Jugad Bawa, Vice President – APAC & Middle East, Aircom
With over 25 years of experience in the telecommunications and IT sectors, Jugad Bawa brings unmatched regional insight and global perspective to his role as Vice President for Asia Pacific and the Middle East at Aircom (a TEOCO Company). Since joining Aircom in 2013—before its acquisition by TEOCO—Jugad has overseen sales and business development in some of the world’s most competitive telecom markets with his deep understanding of customer needs, solution integration, and the evolving dynamics of the communications industry.
In this conversation, Jugad shares how Aircom is powering operator success across APAC and the Middle East with a strong emphasis on adaptability, customer focus, and innovation.
You’ve been at Aircom for more than a decade. How has your journey shaped your approach to the business?
Jugad Bawa: My journey here has been closely tied to the transformation of the industry itself. Aircom has expanded from its strong roots in radio planning to a full-suite RAN lifecycle solutions provider. Managing sales in diverse markets has reinforced the importance of listening to customers, understanding their operational realities, and mapping solutions that address both immediate needs and long-term goals. Our sales cycles are dynamic—maintaining a credible and qualified pipeline is essential to staying resilient even in challenging years.
You manage APAC and the Middle East—regions with very different telecom landscapes. How do you approach these markets?
Jugad Bawa: The business case and investment justification have become common priorities across both regions. But APAC is fast-moving, price-sensitive, and driven by dense rollouts, while the Middle East emphasizes premium service quality and rapid 5G adoption. APAC is a tougher market to close deals, while the Middle East often allows higher upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
My approach starts with protecting and serving existing customers, ensuring their satisfaction, and leveraging partner support. From there, we adapt value propositions — highlighting SmartCM’s automation, ASSET’s efficiency, or Mentor’s geo-precision troubleshooting based on each market’s needs.
You’ve worked with leading global companies before Aircom. How has that shaped your leadership here?
Jugad Bawa: Throughout my career, I’ve been on the telco side—with both global SIs and product companies. I’ve worked for established MNCs with a strong presence in the region and for Greenfield companies entering new markets. Each brings unique challenges. My roles at CSG, Tech Mahindra, Atos, and Siemens taught me the importance of integration, scalability, and building long-term customer relationships. Years of selling services and products, working with partners, and creating end-to-end ecosystems have equipped me to engage and win over Aircom’s global customers.
What are some common challenges you see operators facing in your regions?
Jugad Bawa: Managing spectrum efficiently, controlling operational costs, and dealing with complex configurations are ongoing challenges. In APAC, cost efficiency and scalability are top priorities. In the Middle East, network quality and innovation lead the agenda. Earlier, network teams operated in silos; today, they’re also enablers for business growth. Aircom’s suite addresses these evolving needs — from SmartCM’s automation to ASSET’s precision planning and Mentor’s advanced problem detection.
Aircom is part of TEOCO. How does that strengthen your proposition to customers?
Jugad Bawa: TEOCO enhances our financial capabilities and understanding of customer needs from both a commercial and cost-structuring perspective. Their continued investment in R&D ensures our solutions remain relevant and up to speed with market technologies. With TEOCO’s backing, our portfolio has expanded horizontally, enabling us to offer an end-to-end view of the network.
What do you see as Aircom’s competitive edge?
Jugad Bawa: Our biggest differentiator is vendor agnosticism — we support all technologies from 2G to 5G and adapt to any vendor. Another is our ability to leverage our own IPR and deliver services for our products, unlike others who rely on partners. As we expand solutions, we embed AI/ML to optimize every layer.
Agility also sets us apart: we respond quickly to operator needs, whether that’s modular deployment or integration into multi-vendor, cloud-native environments. Covering the full RAN lifecycle ensures consistent results across planning, optimization, and configuration.
Having seen multiple technology transitions, which has been the most transformative?
Jugad Bawa: 3G was pivotal because it brought data into the picture—how it was accessed, consumed, and monetized. 4G and 5G built on this with speed and advanced capabilities, but 3G was the tipping point for data-driven services. That said, 5G is the most transformative in terms of potential — from IoT to private networks and low-latency applications. It’s also the most complex rollout operators have faced, making Aircom’s role in simplifying that complexity crucial.
What excites you most about Aircom’s future?
Jugad Bawa: Automation, innovation, and relevancy. We continue to innovate at pace — from AI-driven analytics in CogniSense to advanced orchestration in SmartCM. Automation enables us to enhance customer efficiency. Our open APIs ensure seamless data flow, which is critical for operators. Pre-integrated solutions reduce touch-point, connectivity, and integration issues. What excites me is that we remain relevant—operators value our ability to serve them across solution and service needs. Whether Tier 1 or Tier 3, every customer is important to us, and that ethos drives our future.
On a personal note, what defines your leadership style?
Jugad Bawa: I’ve grown from the grassroots, so I believe strongly in enablement. I empower my team to make decisions while being available to guide them. I avoid micromanagement, but I maintain visibility because my markets are vast. Staying close to both the team and customers keeps me agile and responsive. The telecom industry demands adaptability, and I lead with that mindset.
Conclusion
Aircom continues to lead globally with vendor-agnostic, end-to-end RAN solutions that empower operators to plan, optimize, and manage networks with confidence. With a strong presence across APAC and the Middle East, Aircom remains committed to innovation, automation, and delivering measurable value across every stage of the RAN lifecycle.
