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BWA auction: Bids cross Rs 98 billion
NEW DELHI: Even as the auction for the Bandwidth Access (BWA) appears to be coming to a close, there has been a spurt in the bidding which now stands at a pan-India total of Rs 98.37 billion.
The bid for Mumbai remained the highest after 82 rounds on the eleventh day, touching Rs 16.33 billion, higher than Delhi’s bid of Rs 15.91 billion.
Tamil Nadu closed at Rs 14.62 billion, Karnataka at Rs 11.56 billion, Gujarat at Rs 5.72 billion and Kolkata at Rs 4.46 billion
While Punjab closed at Rs 2.83 billion, West Uttar Pradesh had a bid of Rs 1.78 billion, Kerala was at Rs 1.84 billion and East Uttar Pradesh at Rs 992.9 million. Madhya Pradesh closed at Rs 890.9 million, while Haryana had a bid of Rs 847.9 million, Rajasthan closed at Rs 738.3 million, and West Bengal was bid for Rs 612 million.
Bihar closed at Rs 202.6 million; Orissa and Assam at Rs 178.6 million each; and Himachal Pradesh, North-East, and Jammu and Kashmir at Rs 151.5 million each.
The bids for two states remained unchanged: the rest of Maharashtra at Rs 9.16 billion; and Andhra Pradesh at Rs 9.03 billion.
The rest of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and West Uttar Pradesh are unlikely to see any increase with no applications for price increment for tomorrow’s rounds.
Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and North-East will also see only minimal rise with bids of just over Rs one million each.
The telecom operators in the race are Aircel, Augere (Mauritius) Limited, Bharti Airtel, Infotel Broadband Services Private Limited, Qualcomm Incorporated, Reliance WiMax Limited, Spice Internet Service, Provider Private Limited, Tata Communications Internet Services Limited, Tikona Digital Networks Private Limited and Vodafone Essar Limited.
The successful bidders would be allowed to start commercial operations from 1 September.
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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.
