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Reliance Communication, Qualcomm collaborate On CDMA2000 expansion in India
BANGALORE: Reliance Communications Ltd (RCL) and Qualcomm today announced their plan to grow CDMA2000® technology in India. The two companies will collaborate to leverage the capabilities of the CDMA2000 technology by addressing the increasing needs of rural, urban and enterprise consumers through the introduction of more affordable and feature-rich handsets, wireless Internet data cards and a host of data applications. RCL also announced their CDMA2000 network expansion covering more than 20,000 towns in India. RCL‘s network expansion is believed to be the world‘s largest and fastest infrastructure deployment project. Once completed, this project is expected to help India meet its ambitious teledensity targets and provide telecom services across the many Indian villages which do not have any connectivity today. To address the needs of the enterprise segment, RCL has launched Reliance Netconnect, which offers uninterrupted, anytime, anywhere wireless Internet connectivity in more than 8000 towns, 300,000 villages and along major highways and railway routes in India. As per an official release from Qualcomm, RCL chairman Anil Ambani said, “We are committed to the continued explosive growth of telecommunication services in India”, while adding, “We remain focused on achieving ever higher levels of profitable growth, by delivering long term value to our consumers.” Qualcomm CEO Paul E. Jacobs said, “Reliance is a key driver of the fastest growing telecom market in the world, and we are pleased to enhance our long standing collaboration with them. We are committed to support Reliance in its mission to grow the CDMA2000 market in India. Our latest goal is to bring consumers an exciting new range of data offerings in mobile broadband, including multimedia and entertainment.”
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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.
