Applications
Broadband subs in APac to reach 182 mn by yearend: Study
MUMBAI: Fixed broadband subscribers in Asia-Pacific region are expected to grow at 17.3 per cent to touch 182 million users by 2009, according to a study by Frost & Sullivan.
The billing amount is expected to jump 13.3 per cent to reach $44.9 billion.
Frost & Sullivan analyst Adeel Najam expects that fixed broadband will continue to grow even though mobile broadband is on rise. The various government initiatives in rolling-out their national broadband ambitions such as Malaysia‘s high-speed broadband (HSBB) project, Australia‘s national broadband network (NBN) and Singapore‘s iN2015 masterplan will help the broadband growth.
After the completion of the various broadband projects in Asia Pacific countries, the fixed internet broadband users will touch 212.6 million by 2010, says study.
The study further states that, the broadband subscriber base in the region covering 14 Asia Pacific countries including Japan will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.1 per cent annually, and will hit 342.9 million subscribers (from 2009-2014). The revenue to grow in the same period is estimated approximately at $69 billion.
“The bulk of bandwidth growth and network roll-outs in the next few years will be driven by fibre-to-the-node deployments aided mainly by government spending on national high-speed broadband projects. Services such as Web 2.0, social networking, file-sharing, online gaming, as well as falling computer prices and availability of low-cost netbooks have also added impetus towards broadband consumption,” Najam says.
China had the most fixed broadband users with 83.4 million (53.8 per cent of the region‘s total subscriber base), followed by Japan with 30 million and South Korea with 15.5 million in 2008.
Najam says, as mobile broadband is considered a threat to fixed broadband services, both wireless and wireline broadband should be viewed as complementing technology to offer subscribers with blended services.
Applications
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.
