Applications
Alcatel-Lucent and Percept Knorigin partner to bring digital entertainment
MUMBAI: Percept Knorigin (PK), a digital media company incubated by Percept Limited, and Alcatel Lucent that provides mobile, fixed, IP and optics technologies, has signed an agreement to expand the distribution of digital entertainment content to subscribers in India.
PK will use Alcatel-Lucent’s digital media store (DMS) to enhance its web and mobile entertainment service, which is offered to consumers through partnerships with telecom service providers such as BSNL, MTNL and Airtel.
The company said that with more than 1.2 billion people, India
provides an enormous potential audience for PK’s entertainment content – everything from Hindi movies to regional language spectacles and live TV on mobile.
Alcatel-Lucent’s DMS is meant to simplify the distribution of
applications and multimedia content across any network to any connected device – PC, Mobile Phone or TV.
With DMS, PK is now intending to provide a solution that is easy to expand, and gives service providers the flexibility to offer video, audio and games to their subscribers – over wireless or wireline networks, easily and profitably.
Moreover, DMS will enable the service providers offering PK services to establish storefronts and portals, supported by merchandising tools that include the ability to cross-recommend and cross-sell content based on subscriber interests and buying behaviour.
With the usage of digital-rights-management mechanisms, DMS aims to aid bottom lines by reducing content pilfering and also provide both PK and service providers increased earning potential.
Percept Knorigin MD and CEO Viraj Malik says content will be key to building Internet penetration in India.
“We were looking at a scalable service which can keep pace with the great growth we experienced last year; one that can provide us with the capability to create services across mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Our deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s Digital Media Store will provide an all-in-one solution to the challenges service providers face in terms of content, platform and business operation”, Malik added.
“Building on this cooperation, Indian consumers will soon be able to move from place to place and device to device freely, getting their multimedia content whenever and wherever they want it,” Alcatel-Lucent India president and MD Munish Seth stated.
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.
