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BSNL widens Wimax coverage
NEW DELHI: The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has deployed 348 base stations in the urban areas of Kerala Circle, 335 base stations in urban areas of Punjab Circle, 25 base stations in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra each, and 33 base stations in Gujarat Circle to provide WiMax Services with franchises model of revenue sharing.
In the rural phase project one, BSNL has deployed 827 base stations using WiMax (wireless broadband technology) to cover 1000 Rural Block HQ of the country.
Approximately 10279 Rural CSCs and 14591 village panchayats have coverage through the Rural Project.
BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) were assigned one block of 20 MHz spectrum for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) in 2008.
Meanwhile, the Government auctioned two blocks of spectrum each of 20 MHz, for BWA to private companies in 2010 through e-auction, earning total revenue of Rs 385.43 billion.
All successful bidders are required to meet the specified roll-out obligation for BWA spectrum within five years of the effective date.
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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.
