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4G mobile spectrum likely by year-end: Sibal
NEW DELHI: Buoyed by the huge revenue generated by the e-auctioning of 3G even as it continues to battle the after-shocks of 2G spectrum, the Government hopes to auction the spectrum for the fourth generation (4G) mobile services by the end of this year.
Furthermore, the Government will work towards finalising plans to sell off radio waves for the 2G services.
This was stated by Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
“That is what our intent is. We have enough spectrum now to share with everybody,” he said at the India Day function organised by his Ministry as part of the Congress.
Sibal said the government will have enough radio waves for all operators after it is released from the defence services, as well as the cancellation of 122 2G new licences by the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Sibal said the government did not want to put all the spectrum for auction at one go but the final decision would depend on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). “The idea being that we should come up with enough spectrum to get reasonable price for ourselves,” he said.
“When that auction will take place is something that we have to work out. The procedures are laborious, the procedures are complex,” he said. He added that the procedure for holding spectrum auctions should be very transparent.
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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.
