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Agilent becomes member of DVB consortium
MUMBAI: Agilent Technologies has announced that it has joined the DVB Consortium and WorldDMB Forum, two broadcasting organisations.
The DVB Consortium creates technical standards for digital television and data services delivery, while the WorldDMB Forum promotes the Eureka 147 digital radio standard.
Membership in these organisations allows Agilent to provide test and measurement solutions for digital video and audio that are more closely aligned with broadcasting industry needs.
Agilent’s membership in the DVB Consortium and WorldDMB Forum provides it with direct access to members’ test requirements. As the digital broadcast market evolves, Agilent will use these requirements to create customized broadcast test solutions that are compliant with latest industry specifications and conform to recommended test profiles or test vectors.
By tailoring these solutions to different test scenarios (e.g., product certification and large-scale manufacturing), Agilent will look to deliver flexible product features, high-performance specifications and increased cost savings.
Agilent currently offers digital broadcast solutions for both transmitter and receiver test. For transmitter test, Agilent provides several X-Series advanced measurement applications that offer one-button, standard-based power and modulation measurements for X-Series signal analyzers (high-end PXA, mid-range MXA, economy-class EXA and low-cost CXA). For receiver test, Agilent provides Signal Studio software to create standards-compliant test signals.
The software works with the ESG or MXG signal generator as a low-cost solution for R&D and manufacturing customers. The solution is ideal for high-end R&D and lab customers when used in conjunction with the PXB baseband generator and channel emulator for full-conformance testing. Both the transmitter and receiver test solutions are based on Agilent’s general purpose platforms that not only support most digital video and audio formats available today, but numerous wireless communications standards as well, making them well suited for testing multi-format devices.
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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.
