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BWA auction: Prices surge to Rs 128 billion
NEW DELHI: The Pan-India total at the Bandwidth Access (BWA) auction today rose to about Rs 127.75 billion, even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India expressed concern that broadband penetration in India was just 0.74 per cent confined to the main cities though 70 per cent of Indian population lives in rural areas.
After 116 rounds on the 15th day, the bids for Mumbai and Delhi remained at the top with Rs 22.73 million and Rs 22.21 billion respectively.
Tamil Nadu closed at Rs 20.49 billion, while Karnataka was at Rs 15.43 billion, Andhra Pradesh at Rs 10.59 billion, and Gujarat at Rs 6.08 billion.
While Kerala was at Rs 2.59 million, West Uttar Pradesh was at Rs 1.78 billion, East Uttar Pradesh at Rs 1.41 billion, Madhya Pradesh at Rs 1.23 billion, and at Rs 1.19 billion.
Rajasthan closed at Rs 963.6 million, West Bengal clocked Rs 709.7 million, Assam Rs 327 million, the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir Rs 210.6 million each, and Himachal Pradesh Rs 206.6 million.
The bids for five service centres remained unchanged: the rest of Maharashtra at Rs 9.16 billion; Kolkata at Rs 5.23 billion; Punjab at Rs 3.32 billion; Bihar at Rs 983 million, and Orissa at Rs 630 million.
The rest of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kolkata, Punjab, West Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa are unlikely to see any increase with no applications for price increment for tomorrow’s rounds.
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and North-East are expected to see minimal increase with bids of just over Rs two million each.
The telecom operators in the race are Aircel, Augere (Mauritius) Limited, Bharti Airtel, Infotel Broadband Services Private Limited, Qualcomm Incorporated, Reliance WiMax Limited, Spice Internet Service, Provider Private Limited, Tata Communications Internet Services Limited, Tikona Digital Networks Private Limited and Vodafone Essar Limited.
The successful bidders would be allowed to start commercial operations from 1 September.
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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.
