Applications
TRAI gets tough on deadline for CAFs
MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) means business and how. The regulator had called for a meeting on 19 July with the leading Multi System Operators (MSOs) that provide cable TV services in Mumbai, Kolkata and 38 cities, covered under phase-II of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) implementation, to review the progress.
TRAI has set the following deadlines for collection of the consumer application forms (CAFs) from the subscribers, complete in all respects, including choice of channels/services and entry of complete details in the subscriber management system (SMS), by the MSOs in these cities:-
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Sl. No.
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Cities
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Deadline
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| 1 | Municipal Council of Greater Mumbai area | 2 August 2013 |
| 2 | Kolkata Metropolitan area | 23 August 2013 |
| 3 | 38 Cities covered under phase-II of DAS implementation* | 20 September 2013 |
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*Hyderabad, Visakhapatanam, Patna, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Faridabad, Srinagar, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Mysore, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Auragabad, Kalyan-Dombivili, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi-Mumbai, Pimri-Chinchwad, Pune, Sholapur, Thane, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Coimbatore, Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Luknow, Meerut, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Howrah. |
TRAI has already collected 97 per cent of CAF forms from Delhi and 80 per cent from Mumbai.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, TRAI principal advisor Parameswaran N said, “The deadline to submit the customer application forms in Kolkata is 23 August and there will be no extension. TRAI will take an action against LCOs and MSOs who will not submit the CAFs on time.”
TRAI has requested cable TV subscribers of the above mentioned areas to cooperate and submit the CAFs, complete in all respects to the respective cable operators/MSOs at the earliest, to enjoy the full benefits of digitisation. In event of failure to do so, MSOs will have no option but to switch off the signal to those consumers who have not submitted the forms, otherwise such MSOs would be in breach of the law.
Incable MD Ravi Mansukhani said, “80 per cent forms have been submitted and by the end of this month it should be 100 per cent in Mumbai.”
A leading Cable operator‘s spokesperson said, “CAF forms cannot be filled in a month or two. It is a long process which will take time; LCOs have to understand that this process will increase their ARPU‘s (Average revenue per user) and at the same time the subscribers too are not educated about this issue and they would only be aware of the gravity of the situation once their connections will be downgraded.”
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.
