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TRAI gets tough on MSOs on DAS customer forms
MUMBAI: That TRAI boss Rahul Khullar means business; that he does not mince any words; that he can make you squirm when he wants to is something all – who have been at the receiving end at one time or the other – know. But the heads of India‘s leading MSOs got another taste of that just yesterday, if sources are to be believed.
Khullar had summoned the heads of Siti Cable, Incable, Hathway, DEN and Digicable to the TRAI headquarter in Delhi. Four of them landed up; Digicable‘s Jagjit Singh Kohli requested to be excused. Hathway‘s Jagdeesh Kumar; Incable‘s Ravi Mansukhani; Siticable‘s Wadhwa and Anil Malhotra, and DEN‘s SN Sharma Sameer and Manchanda landed up in his chamber. They had earlier been pulled up similarly in end-March and had been warned that strict action against them would be taken under the TRAI act.
But this time it seemed as if Khullar had apparently reached the end of his patience. He did not let them get a word in – even edgewise.
“I have only 10-15 minutes to talk to you,” he thundered. “Where is the cable TV customer data that I have been demanding from you? It‘s been months since I should have got it; your deadline has long past. Now let me make it very clear to you: I will prosecute each one of you if I don‘t get it.”
Khullar went on to blast the MSOs further and set the deadline for collection of the DAS Phase I customer forms for Mumbai and Delhi. “You have till 30 June to submit those forms; failing which you can be sure you will be prosecuted under the required laws. DAS and SMS billing have to move ahead,” he urged.
Khullar apparently has also permitted the MSOs to disconnect local cable TV operators and subscribers who are continuing to play truant in the submission of the KYC (know your customer) forms.
The government mandated phase I of cable TV digitisation – with the switch-off of analogue TV signals and installation of set top boxes – which covered the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata was to be completed by 31 October. As part of that process MSOs and cable TV operators were instructed to collect information from their customers and submit the forms to the authorities.
However, sources indicate that MSOs have been rather tardy in the submission of these forms as local cable TV operators have not been complying with their continuous and repeated requests.
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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.
