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VSNL drops bandwith prices
MUMBAI: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) has significantly reduced prices for its international bandwidth products – international private leased circuits (IPLC) and internet leased lines (ILL). IPLC prices in India will be reduced by up to 25 per cent with effect from 1 September. ILL tariffs will also fall by up to 40 per cent. These products are offered in India using VSNL‘s global network that spans over 200,000 route km, connecting 200 countries. |
Demand for international connectivity has been rapidly growing with several Indian companies including Tata Group investing overseas and India emerging as a favourite destination for foreign investors. International connectivity is also an important driver for the growth of the fast growing IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors. The market for international and internet bandwidth is expected to expand as the reduced prices will encourage demand from new customer segments like SMEs, smaller ISPs and academic institutions. |
VSNL also intends to build two new submarine cable systems, one between India and Europe and the other intra-Asia, in partnership with leading carriers in the respective regions. These multi-terabit capacity systems, incorporating state of the art technologies, would interconnect with VSNL‘s existing global network that has over 20 terabits of capacity. The India-Europe cable would also provide connectivity to the Gulf region and the African continent, and supplement the Company‘s existing bandwidth capacity in several consortium cables in the region. The intra-Asia cable between Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan would enhance the link between the Company‘s Tata Indicom Cable (Chennai – Singapore) and TGN Pacific (Japan – USA). The overall build cost of these two cable systems is expected to be in the region of $600 million. “VSNL has always taken the lead in growing the internet and international bandwidth market in India. We have invested over Rs 25 billion in expanding our global presence and connectivity in the last 2 years. We have regularly passed on the benefits of improved cost efficiencies and service quality to our customers,” says VSNL executive director N Srinath. “The new cables would enhance VSNL‘s global network in two of the fastest growing regions in the world,” he adds. IPLCs are point to point, international private circuits, mainly used by large Indian corporates and multinationals to connect to their regional and global locations. Internet Leased Lines are dedicated high speed connections to access the Internet, used by enterprises and small / medium ISPs. VSNL acquired Tyco Global Network (TGN) last year to own undersea cable bandwidth. Early this year it also acquired Teleglobe to become a large international wholesale voice carrier with about 17 billion minutes of traffic annually. |
Applications
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.
