Applications
SA launches subsidy drive for poor to achieve cable digitisation
MUMBAI: The Indian government should learn. As part of its cable television digitisation process, the South African government has approved a subsidy scheme to make the service accessible to underprivileged.
As part of the Ownership Support Rollout Framework for Set-Top-Boxes (STBs), poor households that own television sets will get full subsidy for outdoor and indoor antennae and the installation costs associated with rolling out digital signals.
The South African cabinet further approved the full subsidisation of television owning households in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project area in the Northern Cape. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a radio telescope in development which will have a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre which is also being hosted by South Africa besides other countries.
The cabinet expressed sensitivity to poor households who may have already invested in analogue television sets and particularly those in the Northern Cape whose television signal would otherwise be scrambled by the SKA project, the government said in a statement.
The South Africa government has identified set- top-box as an important tool for public access to government information and services. Through the subsidy scheme the government is playing a critical role in bridging the digital divide in the country.
Furthermore, the cabinet approved the STB Manufacturing Sector Development Strategy and agreed that the Minister of Communications, Trade and Industry and Economic Development further consult on measures to ensure localisation.
The Government-STB Manufacturing Industry Partnership approach to develop this sector will form a good platform for the creation of a strong and globally competitive electronics manufacturing industry and spur job creation along the total digital migration value chain.
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.
