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Trai meets stakeholders to move on digitisation
NEW DELHI: Broadcasters and multi-system operators (MSOs) today met Telecom Regulatory and Authority of India (Trai) chairman JS Sarma and other senior officials to discuss issues relating to digitisation, addressability and interconnectivity.
Though the meet was described as a regular interaction, it assumes importance in the view of the recent government announcement relating to digitisation by March 2015 through the set-top box (STB).
The meet was attended by several members of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and the MSO Alliance.
Trai had recently decided to extend the last date for receiving the views of stakeholders on its consultation paper relating to interconnection regulation in non-addressable cable TV, but had not announced the new date.
It is understood that today’s meeting related to the consultation paper as well as the financial implications of digitisation.
The government recently sent its revised time schedule for digitisation to Trai, which had earlier set a deadline of 31 December 2013 as a sunset date for analogue transmission. The government had asked Trai for its comments before putting it up to the Union Cabinet for approval.
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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.
