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MTNL launches India’s first 3G mobile TV service with Aksh Optifiber
NEW DELHI: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has commercially launched India’s first 3G-driven mobile television service with the help of Alcatel-Lucent in collaboration with Aksh Optifibre.
This new mobile TV service makes multimedia and entertainment a reality for millions of MTNL mobile subscribers in the metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai. The service was launched in March 2010.
Specifically, Aksh has leveraged Alcatel-Lucent’s cost-effective, flexible mobile streaming server to provide an enhanced user experience with its bandwidth adaptation and video optimisation capabilities as well as enable generate additional revenue for MTNL.
“We are proud to enable India ‘s first 3G mobile TV in Delhi and Mumbai. Mobile TV as a value added feature epitomizes convergence in technology realising the distant dream of live television viewing on the move. Our association with Alcatel-Lucent enables us to materialize that Indian 3G subscriber’s aspiration for a revolutionary product,” said Aksh Optifibre managing director Dr Kailash Choudhari.
“Streaming video is the fastest growing data service and is a key enabler for mobile operators to justify investment in 3G and LTE technologies,” said Alcatel-Lucent, India managing director Vivek Mohan. “Alcatel-Lucent’s mobile streaming server offers an exceptional viewing experience, high quality video from the very first video frame, and fast and seamless stream switching when zapping between TV channels.”
Alcatel-Lucent will provide its Mobile Streaming Server (also known in the market as pvServer); an off-the-shelf solution to launch video services on 2.5G and 3G networks. The Mobile Streaming Server supports all types of standard-based media formats and dynamic switching from high-bit rate to low-bit rate streaming based on network coverage and bandwidth availability, hence lowering cost of ownership.
It offers enhancements to all aspects of user experience, including fast start-up, bit rate adaption, quality video from frame 1 and seamless stream switching. The solution also helps monetise the mobile TV service by providing open interfaces that enable pre-roll, in-stream and post-roll ad insertion for any mobile video application.
The new mobile TV service helps Aksh Optifiber extend its existing IPTV service, iControl, currently offered to the MTNL subscribers. The new partnership also further cements Alcatel-Lucent’s role in the development of new advanced mobile services for MTNL and of 3G in India.
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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.
