Applications
MSOs to crack the whip on LCOs on customer forms issue
MUMBAI: India‘s multisystem operators (MSOs) got a dressing down yesterday from TRAI boss Rahul Khullar about the lack of KYC or CRF forms giving details about their subscribers. Khullar ordered them to get their acts together, giving a deadline of 30 June 2013 for the forms to come in, failing which they would be prosecuted.
With the proverbial Damoclean sword hanging over their heads, they have decided to fall in line.
Says DEN Networks CEO S.N. Sharma: “We are all working together, to follow the directions given by TRAI. We are already in the process of collecting customer data and are positive that we will be able to meet the 30 June deadline.”
According to sources, the four MSOs got together post the TRAI meeting and have agreed to act in coordination with each other. The idea is to switch off all the set top boxes for which the MSOs don‘t have the customer details. The switch-off will be done area wise and hopefully this will force local cable operators to share the forms with MSOs. The latter have also agreed to not allow cable TV operators to switch MSOs or play one MSO against the other.
“Subscribers are bound to suffer during this exercise as they may have given the details to their operator but would have not been forwarded to the MSO. They should contact the MSOs directly to ensure that their details are registered or they can face a switch off,” emphasises InCablenet MD Ravi Mansukhani.
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.
