Applications
India to have highest IP traffic growth in four years
NEW DELHI: India is set to have the highest Internet Protocol (IP) traffic growth rate with a 44 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2012-2017 followed by Indonesia (42 per cent CAGR) and South Africa (31 per cent CAGR) over the forecast period, a new study has revealed.
The Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast (2012-2017) projects that global IP traffic will grow three-fold between 2012 and 2017.
By 2017, the highest traffic-generating countries will be the United States (37 exabytes per month) and China (18 exabytes per month), says the report.
At the regional level, the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will continue to be the fastest growing IP traffic region from 2012-2017 (five-fold growth, 38 per cent compound annual growth rate over the forecast period); MEA was the fastest growing region last year as well (10-fold growth, 57 per cent compound annual growth rate for 2011- 2016 forecast period) in this category, the report said.
Asia-Pacific (APAC) will generate the most IP traffic by 2017 (43.4 exabytes/month), maintaining its leadership from last year.
According to the report, by 2017, there will be about 3.6 billion Internet users – more than 48 per cent of the world‘s projected population (7.6 billion). In 2012, there were 2.3 billion Internet users – about 32 per cent of the world‘s population (7.2 billion).
By 2017, there will be more than 19 billion global network connections (fixed/mobile personal devices, M2M connections), up from about 12 billion connections in 2012.
Global network users will generate 3 trillion internet video minutes per month, that is six million years of video per month, or 1.2 million video minutes every second or more than two years worth of video every second.
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
