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Govt approves BWA auction results, payment by 22 June
NEW DELHI: The Government today approved the results of the BWA spectrum auction, according to which the Government will earn revenues of Rs 385.43 billion.
After considering the provisional results, the Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary said the price per block of pan –India spectrum of 20 MHz is Rs 128.47 billion.
All the winning bidders including Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Linited are required to pay the amount by 22 June.
The e-Auction for allocation of BWA Spectrum began on 24 May and closed on 11 June after 16 days and 117 rounds of bidding. The base price for BWA had been fixed at Rs 17.5 billion.
Communications and Information Technology Ministry sources said the total revenue has been worked out at over Rs 385 billion as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which have already been issued licences for BWA services, will also have to pay this winner‘s price.
While Infotel Broadband Services Private Limited, which was yesterday taken over by the Mukesh Ambani Reliance Group for Rs 48 billion to mark his entry into the telecom sector, won a bid in all the 22 service centres, Aircel won the bid in eight centres; Tikona Digital Networks Private Limited in five centres; Bharti Airtel and Qualcomm Incorporated in four centres each; and Augere (Mauritius) Limited at one centre.
Reliance WiMax Limited, Spice Internet Service Provider Private Limited, Tata Communications Internet Services Limited, and Vodafone Essar Limited opted out of the auction.
Mumbai had the highest bid of Rs 22.93 billion with Delhi at Rs 22.41 billion, in both cases from Infotel and Qualcomm. The frequencies allocated are in the range of 2305.0 – 2325.0, and 2327.5 – 2347.5 MHz.
Tamil Nadu came next with Rs 20.69 billion, followed by Karnataka at Rs 15.43 billion and Andhra Pradesh at Rs 10.59 billion. The North-East and Jammu and Kashmir had the lowest bid at Rs 212.7 million each.
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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.
