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GTPL uses Cisco STBs for cable digitisation
BANGALORE: Cisco has announced that it has been chosen by Gujarat Telelinks Private Ltd (GTPL) to usher in cable digitisation across the key states of Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
As part of this digitisation programme, GTPL will deploy more than 300,000 next-generation digital set-top boxes from Cisco over the next 12 months in these markets.
Digitisation will help GTPL transform into a lifestyle-experience provider and help enable services like residential TV, HDTV, gaming, digital video recording, video on demand and future ’connected home’ services to retail consumers. The new digital platform will also allow cable and Internet service providers to offer enhanced services to consumers and increase their subscription revenue.
GTPL MD Aniruddh Sinh Jadeja said, “”Digitisation will help us address several issues that have been dogging the industry and strengthen our competitive edge in the market over direct-to-home players. Combining GTPL’s expertise as a cable and Internet solutions provider with Cisco’s leadership in Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network technology will enable us to offer improved value-added services such as digital video recording, video on demand and a host of other experiences to our subscribers.”
Cisco India and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation VP, service providers Vish Iyer said, “Our engagement with GTPL is a matter of great pride and excitement and has brought about several firsts in the industry, potentially changing how subscribers consume and experience television and other digital services across key markets that GTPL has a presence in. Changing consumer preferences in the home entertainment segment is leading to a rapid growth of cable digitisation in India. Our engagement with GTPL demonstrates Cisco’s ability to help transform cable service providers into experience providers, offering superior content and enhanced interactive services to consumers.”
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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.
