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Flag signs a 5 year deal with Vanco to enhance its presence
MUMBAI:Flag Telecom Group Limited (FLAG), a subsidiary of Reliance Communications Limited, announced a five-year agreement with UK-based Vanco, a global Virtual Network Operator (VNO). This agreement will result in considerable enhancement of Flag‘s VPN access across areas where it is not present currently. Vanco will also benefit by access to Flag‘s global service capability across India and the Middle East. MPLS (Multi -Protocol Label Switching) gives network operators a great deal of flexibility to divert and route traffic around link failures, congestion, and bottlenecks that further enhances the levels of service standards currently offered by Flag especially connecting developing markets like India and the Middle East to the developed markets.
Speaking on the initiative, Flag president Punit Garg said, “Vanco provides significant enhancement to our already extensive cable network, fulfilling the reach that our customers are looking for. This agreement provides Flag and its customers access to a further 81 countries allowing us to extend our network to over 100 countries across the globe.”
Explaining the strategic value of the tie-up Vanco chief executive Allen Timpany said, “There is a great deal of synergy in our businesses. Vanco is fast becoming the definitive partner for Asset Based Carriers (ABC) like Flag Telecom, who are looking to extend their physical networks and offer their customers global solutions. Likewise, our customers will benefit from Flag‘s strong coverage, especially into India and the Middle East, which are among the fastest growing markets in the world.”
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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.
