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Trai extends date of stakeholder views on tariff for HITS to 30 April
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has extended to 30 April the last date for receipt of comments of stakeholders to its consultation paper on tariff and interconnection issues related to Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) services.
The extension has been given in view of the demand by stakeholders and keeping in view the importance of the issue and the need for wider participation of stakeholders in the consultation process.
Trai also extended to 8 May the date for submission of counter comments, adding that no further extension would be given.
The paper was issued by Trai on 6 Aprilconsequent to the guidelines for providing HITS broadcasting service in India issued by the government on 26 November 2009. Stakeholders had been asked to submit their comments and counter comments by 26th April and 3rd May respectively.
In the paper, Trai asked stakeholders to give their opinion on whether the tariff model for HITS should be based on the DTH (direct-to-home), Cas (conditional access, or non-Cas system.
Trai has also sought to know how the tariff model will be regulated and sought the views of the stakeholders on carriage and placement fee.
The consultation paper follows the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s reference to Trai on 10 December last to revisit the Interconnection Regulations and issue Tariff Orders for promotion of HITS services.
Among other things, Trai also wants to know the revenue shares of broadcaster, HITS operator, and cable operator, the retail tariff for subscribers for pay channels, and whether there should be any minimum tariff for the subscribers.
Suggestions have also been sought on any other model to regulate the tariff for HITS service, and whether the quantum of carriage and placement fee should be linked to some parameters. Stakeholders have also been asked to give their views on putting a cap on the quantum of carriage and placement fee and how this will be fixed.
Stakeholders have also been asked to suggest any further amendments to implement HITS policy.
In the model where HITS operator is only a passive infrastructure provider, HITS operator will get replaced with ‘MSO who is using HITS platform for distribution of signals’. Trai, thus, wants to know if there can be any other model.
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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.
