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BroadcastAsia to offer satellite players opportunities for Asian expansion
MUMBAI: This month will see more than 100 satellite-based communications companies – an increase of seven per cent compared to 2011 – assemble at CommunicAsia2012 and BroadcastAsia2012, Asia‘s global ICT, digital multimedia and entertainment event.
Satellite exhibitors include Addvalue, Alitronika, Asiasat, Asia Broadcast Satellite, APT Satellite, Beijing Compunicate, China Satcom, China Suncom, Cobham, iDirect, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Iridium, Measat, Newtec, Siemens, SkyPerfect JSAT, Speedcast, Thaicom, Thomson Video Networks and first time exhibitor Novelsat.
As the Asian satellite market continues to grow, these industry players are using the event – to be held from 19 to 22 June 2012 at the Marina Bay Sands and Suntec Singapore respectively – as a strategic platform to address the critical issues surrounding Asia‘s marketplace, while accentuating their presence in the region.
According to many Asian satellite providers, the Asian satellite industry will continue to have future growth opportunities. With almost 3.8 billion people, Asia accounts for over 60 per cent of the world‘s population. This combined with strong growth in subscription numbers for Direct-To-Home/Direct Broadcast Satellite (DTH/DBS) services and advanced services, such as HDTV and 3D-TV, are fuelling the demand for satellite services in the region.
Satellite communications specialist Newtec has been involved with CommunicAsia for many years.
Newtec CEO Serge Van Herck said, “CommunicAsia represents a good investment for us each year. All of the key industry players attend the conference and each year the ROI proves it to be an extremely worthwhile venture, both for making deals with new and existing customers, and raising the company profile.
“This year we will be launching a series of products into the Asian market including the World‘s fastest transmission technology. What started out as a simple test of a number of Newtec‘s recently released and upcoming technologies ended in a quite exceptional report.
“During the actual test an Intelsat 72 MHz Ku band transponder was saturated using Newtec‘s latest modem technology and a mere 4.5 meter antenna. The result was a staggering 372 Mbps. Amazingly that did not include the use of the upcoming modulation and coding DVB-S2 extensions that Newtec‘s 200-head engineering team is working on. We are looking forward to showing these at CommunicAsia2012.”
Television as an economical form of entertainment has helped Pay TV operators maintain revenue streams and offers promising prospects for satellite players. In fact, with 10,000 channels and 365 million subscribers, Asia‘s Pay TV industry is booming and looks positive for the future – according to Media Partners Asia, a Hong Kong-based research consultancy, Asian Pay TV subscriptions will rise to 570 million by 2012, which will still only be 62 per cent of homes with TVs.
Inmarsat Global VP, Industry Drew Brandy said, “Asia-Pacific is a very important market for us, particularly as it looks set to experience further growth in satellite. As such, CommunicAsia2012 and BroadcastAsia2012 is a key event in our calendar. It explores the future of satellite while providing fantastic networking opportunities and enabling us to showcase our latest innovations.”
Essel Shyam executive director MN Vyas added, “The Asian satellite market is earmarked for high growth and we are extremely keen to tap into this potential. BroadcastAsia2012 is an important networking event to us as it offers an excellent platform to gain industry knowledge on the Asian market, and grow our business contacts.”
CommunicAsia2012 Summit will be featuring a session dedicated to satellite communications. NewSat founder, CEO Adrian Ballintine will open with a keynote presentation on Ka-band and Australasian satellite growth. The session will also unveil many prominent industry experts from across the globe, such as Altobridge, Gilat Satellite Networks, International Telecommunication (ITU), SES, and SingTel, converging at one place to debate about the growth potential of satellite broadband in Asia, the impact of industry consolidation through M&A and private equity in the satellite industry, mobile broadband for rural communities, amongst other critical topics.
Event organiser Singapore Exhibition Services project director for communications events Victor Wong said, “By bridging the wide spectrum of satellite technologies and applications to present operators with new and innovative ways to deliver data, video and voice content, CommunicAsia2012, together with BroadcastAsia2012, is well placed to play a pivotal role in accelerating the growth of Asia‘s satellite industry. Moreover, the 2012 events already have the support and endorsement from over 20 leading trade associations, including Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) and the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) and World Teleport Association (WTA). “
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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.
