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Bharti among 17 global telcos in project to build the Asia-America gateway cable system
MUMBAI: Major leaders of the telecommunications industry along with Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecom services provider, have signed a formal construction and maintenance agreement in Kuala Lumpur last week, to build the first high bandwidth optical fiber submarine cable system from the South East Asia direct to the USA. The cable system, known as the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), will be built at a cost of about $ 560 million. The cable project is spearheaded by 17 telecommunications companies namely, AiTi, AT&T, BayanTel, Bharti, BT Global Network Services, CAT Telecom, ETPI, Maxis, PCP Company Limited, PLDT, Saigon Postal Corporation, StarHub, Telekom Malaysia, Telstra, TNZL, Viettel and VNPT. |
The supply contract for the construction of the AAG cable system was signed between the AAG and the consortium of ASN-NEC Corporation, later on the same day, in Kuala Lumpur. The AAG cable system is designed to provide 1.92 Tbps using Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology to provide upgradeable, future proof transmission facilities that support Internet and e-commerce, a company release asserts. |
The birth of AAG cable system will compliment existing high bandwidth cable systems in the region. In addition, the AAG cable system will provide the much-needed diversity against traditional routes to the US, mainly carrying broadband traffic. This is important considering recent earthquakes that took out almost all cable systems in the region. The AAG cable system, with its large bandwidth and high quality transmission technology, will meet the present and future burgeoning growth in telecommunications traffic. Says David Nishball, president, Enterprise Services, Airtel, “Our partnership in AAG cable system reinforces our commitment to invest in state of the art technologies for providing scalable and future proof solutions for our International customers. This investment is in line with our strategy to extend our International footprint and focus on connecting our customers in India to Asia and the Americas. While our existing i2i and SeMeWe4 cable systems already provide connectivity across the globe, the AAG cable system will help offer increased redundancy and resilient networks, while meeting the increasing demands of voice, private data and Internet traffic.” |
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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.
