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QoS, SMS-based payments must: Trai to MSOs
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today asked all multi-system operators (MSOs) in the Cas areas to switch off with immediate effect the subscribers who have not filled their channel requistion forms (CRF). The sector regulator also pointed out to the MSOs that quality of service (QoS) would boil down to the last mile operator. Amidst top officials at the information and broadcasting meeting today saying that Cas has been slow on the offtake, and payment as per subscriber management system (SMS) is a major issue between MSOs and broadcasters, Trai took from the MSO evidence of the payments they claimed to have made so far to the broadcasters. Sources attending the meeting said that it was a very detailed exercise and that for the next month or so, the sole focus of Trai, and hence of the MSOs, would be full implementation of QoS. The meeting, broken up for a while when a fire broke out, lasted for more than three hours, during which first all the MSOs along with Trai officials had an open-house discussion, and later each MSO was asked to make their individual presentations on QoS. The MSOs had been asked to come with several sets of data, including the number of boxes seeded, the number of CRF forms filled, the payments made so far and whether they were made as per the CRFs, and evidence of the payments made. While all the MSOs could not be contacted after the closed door meeting, two major MSOs said that they have already switched off those subscribers who had failed to fill up the CRF forms. Trai has also said today that invoices should be strictly raised as per SMS with details of channels watched by each subscriber and payments made accordingly. One MSO said that they have cleared their dues from their SMS data till April. Trai had held a meeting on this issue last in May, and MSO sources said that most of them have made their payments till April. The MSOs do not want an issue on this score with the broadcasters any more, because it is in their interest to ensure Cas succeeds, a senior MSO source told indiantelevision.com. Trai also had asked MSOs for detailed statement on payments received and made so far. This was made available to Trai individually, sources said.
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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.
