Applications
Processing video from linear to live, OTT & VR: Verizon launches Exponent for global carriers
MUMBAI: Verizon has globally launched Exponent, a new business and technology venture offering a portfolio of software and internet platforms designed to enable carriers around the world to quickly deploy and launch next-generation solutions. Exponent offers a foundation for carriers to fuel their digital transformation and compete with a range of new digital service providers by expanding their Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Media Services and Internet Services Delivery platforms.
Exponent combines Verizon’s cutting edge innovation with the operating know how of running one of the most advanced networks on the planet, to provide carriers with the right expertise and capabilities to accelerate growth, optimize performance, and monetize assets.
“As carriers around the world seek to compete with new, emerging technology players and OTT service providers, Exponent provides a cost-effective way for them to leverage Verizon’s investment and experience to diversify and help grow their revenue streams while relying on our tradition of innovation, reliability and excellence,” said Verizon chief product officer Guru Pai.
Exponent platforms provide a broad range of business and technical benefits to carriers including:
Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Platform – designed to assist carriers to unlock and monetize their wealth of data through the application of advanced machine learning techniques, deep analytics, and artificial intelligence. This new groundbreaking platform enables services providers to utilize their unique data sets in the marketplace and open new business opportunities.
IoT Platform – from silicon to vertical solutions, this platform eliminates many of the limitations carriers have traditionally faced in managing the known complexities of its IoT growth business. By integrating a wide set of capabilities, from managing all end user devices and connections to a developer and customer marketplace, carriers are empowered to accelerate their IoT use cases.
Media Services Platform – through cross-platform video and advanced media services across multiple networks with different end point devices, this platform reduces complexity to a simple integrated end-to-end next-generation video technology, handling everything from content ingestion to the final user screen. These solutions allow carriers to easily process at scale any type of video content from linear TV feeds to live streaming, OTT and emerging formats such as 360 video and VR, at a very convenient cost structure, while delivering a rich and customizable user experience.
Internet Services Delivery Platform – with the goal of managing the ever-increasing infrastructure demand, this platform provides a powerful and flexible real-time flow-based solution that helps operators launch revenue-generating internet services, create value-based pricing and consumer engagement plans, and deliver dynamic network optimization capabilities through a simple management interface.
Cloud Computing and Storage Platform – designed and built with carrier-sized deployments in mind, this container-based architecture allows carriers to rapidly deploy new services with a focus on scale and security, all while optimizing for both performance and cost.
Exponent’s platforms were designed to bring the flexibility and openness of internet technologies with the scale and consistency of carrier-grade solutions, leveraging open source software, comprehensive application programming interfaces (APIs) and micro-services architectures. The platforms interoperate seamlessly with existing carrier’s assets to maximize their utilization and give the customer the ability to scale as their business model evolves.
“Exponent’s approach to designing and deploying platforms with an open architecture model offers carriers an innovative and much-needed entry into new growth areas while mitigating the required investment and resources to get started. There is significant value for both sides in this model,” said IDC Research group VP Courtney Munroe.
Created by a carrier, for carriers, Exponent has the potential to change the carrier landscape by helping to generate new revenue streams, reduce investment risk, and embrace tomorrow’s business opportunities.
“Our launch of Exponent demonstrates our commitment to providing best-in-class experiences and services to the carrier community. After many years of hard work, we are ready to launch and share our learnings, and we welcome all services providers globally to partner with us,” said Exponent VP and GM Brian Higgins.
Learn more about Exponent at the Verizon Operator Marketplace Speaker Series at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 27, 2017. Over the four days of Mobile World Congress, Verizon will be hosting a dynamic Operator Marketplace and an engaging speaker series, showcasing products and solutions that are disrupting the technology industry. See firsthand and learn from top leaders about how innovation in platforms, content, and advertising will shape the future on a global scale.
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.
