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Govt to get Rs 385 bn bonanza as BWA auction ends
NEW DELHI: With the government concluding the auction for bandwidth access (BWA) today, the total revenue to the exchequer is expected to be over Rs 385 billion.
The pan-India figure at the end of 117 rounds was at Rs 128.48 billion but this figure will double as the government has approved two contenders at each service centre. The base price for BWA had been fixed at Rs 17.5 billion.
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 match the winner‘s price.
However, the Ministry said the auction results are provisional and subject to approval by the Government. Frequencies in MHz were also allocated to the successful bidders.
While Infotel Broadband Services Private Limited 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 while Delhi took the second spot at Rs 22.41 billion, both being 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.
However the revenue from BWA auction may not start flowing in immediately as the network infrastructure is not in place.
Global investment bank Rothschild and telecom auction services provider DotEcon advised the government on the auctions.
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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.
