The internet has evolved, becoming faster and more efficient than ever before. With the rise of high-speed broadband and 4G/5G, streaming HD/4K video content is now seamless. This transformation is reshaping entertainment, gaming, and even remote work. As internet speeds continue to soar, digital experiences are becoming more immersive and interactive. The way we consume content is changing, marking a new era in online connectivity.
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Role of 4G/5G in Content Consumption
With 4G/5G, users can stream videos seamlessly or watch cricket online in real-time. Moreover, telecom companies are encouraging OTT platforms by bundling them with data subscription plans, making the experience even better. If you believe you are consuming high-speed internet that travels across borders to stream videos in your daily routine, continue reading this story.
Internet Usage Trends
With the launch of 4G and now 5G, internet consumption has evolved, primarily revolving around a few platforms or apps for video and music streaming. If we observe data usage trends, most of it is centred around a few platforms, including video streaming, short video content, instant messaging, or internet browsing. Consequently, higher data packs are required for video consumption, as streaming videos consume significantly more data than regular usage.
Video as the Primary Driver of Data Consumption
Whether or not telecom companies bundle OTT platforms with their plans, the majority of data consumption is driven by video. That said, the data used for streaming video is deducted from the user's internet data balance. Naturally, users assume that since they are streaming videos, they are consuming data from their internet balance.
Video Delivery and Internet Bandwidth
However, from what we understand, most video content streamed via content platforms does not necessarily consume internet bandwidth—at least not in a technical sense. By definition, the internet is a "network of networks," but we believe much of this video content is delivered through local storage. This means it primarily relies on caching technology to deliver video to your devices via wireless connectivity (4G/5G) or fiber.
What is Caching?
Caching in the internet refers to the process of temporarily storing copies of frequently accessed data to improve speed and efficiency. Instead of fetching data from the original source (such as a web server) every time, cached content is served from a closer or faster location, reducing load times and bandwidth usage.
Local Content Delivery
For instance, when you stream a video from an OTT app or content platform, if the content is already cached (stored locally) by the telco in pairing partnership with the OTT platform provider and infrastructure enablers, there is no real internet usage occurring—only data usage for transmitting content to end user. In this scenario, the video is being streamed via an app using 4G/5G or fiber broadband, but no additional bandwidth consumption is happening at the telco level since the content is served from a local copy.
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Example with a Data Pack
To illustrate further, let's say a user has a 2GB data pack and consumes 1.5GB streaming video, which is served via a local copy stored in nearby data centers. In such a case, where is the actual internet consumption and bandwidth usage happening? The majority of the 1.5GB consumed is merely retrieving content from a local copy rather than through traditional internet traffic.
To illustrate this in layman's terms, imagine your neighbour has a media hub with a storage device filled with music and videos. If they allow you to access and stream content wirelessly, data is transmitted via Wi-Fi, but no internet is involved since the content is stored locally. Similarly, when you stream video or OTT content, you may primarily be accessing cached content via 4G/5G or broadband without actually using the internet.
ISPs Bundling OTT Platforms
We believe this is likely why some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) bundle multiple OTT applications and offer generous data allowances—because the bandwidth usage is minimal. Some telecom providers may follow this caching approach, while others may genuinely deliver content via internet infrastructure. Depending on the telecom provider, you might be streaming cached content or accessing the content via internet infrastructure, which incurs costs. That's why you encounter FUP (Fair Usage Policy) from some telcos.
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Record Usage Doesn't Reflect Reality
So, we believe that when a specific telecom provider offers you more data—most of which is used for video content—or reports record-high data usage on its network, that figure may not truly reflect the actual capacity of its infrastructure or its real internet usage.
User Base and Inclination of a Telco
It also depends on the telecom provider's user base and the type of content it promotes. For example, some providers bundle many OTT benefits with their data plans. While you may assume you are paying for internet data, you may actually be consuming cached video content. We believe that a telecom provider understands its user base and the type of content its users consume, which influence their data usage and capacity claims.
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Data Traffic Reports of Indian Telcos
Now, let's examine the reported data traffic numbers of Indian telecom operators. In Q3FY25, Reliance Jio, which claims to be the world's largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic, reported 46.5 billion GB of data traffic on its network. Airtel reported 20,174 million GB (19,240 PBs), while Vodafone Idea (Vi) reported a total data volume of 5,859 billion MB.
If we standardise the units, the usage roughly comes to Jio: 46.5 billion GB, Airtel: 20.174 billion GB, and Vi: 5.859 billion GB.
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People Consuming Data for Entertainment
Recently, even the government acknowledged that most of India's data usage is for entertainment. Given these figures, one can analyse what portion of this traffic constitutes actual internet usage versus cached content.
Now that we have examined data usage metrics and you are familiar with the types of plans and data offerings from different operators, considering the consumer usage discussed above, we leave it to you to determine how much of this network traffic constitutes "actual internet usage" and what capacity a particular telco truly holds.
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Speed Tests and Their Accuracy
You may refer to speed test results showing hundreds of Mbps or even Gbps and feel satisfied with your network's performance. However, we do not fully trust speed test results as they are not an accurate measure of true internet performance.
Real-World Performance
We have personally experienced situations where a speed test app reported 4G speeds of 43.1 Mbps (download) and 4.26 Mbps (upload), yet the actual internet experience struggled to load web pages or send instant messages.
From what we know, speed test apps generally measure a connection's download speed, upload speed, latency (ping), and jitter by sending and receiving data packets between the device and a test server. However, real-world internet usage does not rely on a single test server. Users download files from multiple locations, stream content from distant servers, and access various online services that do not necessarily follow a single network path —all of which influence real-world performance. This variability makes speed test results unreliable as a measure of actual internet performance. So, we believe that measuring Internet performance with speed tests is a flawed approach.
Moreover, the speeds experienced on an end device depend on multiple factors, including the device's processing capability and the application's server load.
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In one real-world internet performance test, back in 2014, TelecomTalk evaluated internet performance by streaming online radio on an Edge network across different operators. You can read it at the following link.
For example, if a server is designed to handle only 100 users at a time, users may face slow speeds even if their internet connection theoretically supports gigabit speeds. Similarly, downloading software updates from a service provider's server depends on the server's capacity, congestion, and other parameters—not just the internet speed shown on your device.
So, if you see 1 Gbps on your device, that doesn't necessarily mean you are actually getting 1 Gbps. Also, since there is no real use case for a 1 Gbps connection—apart from seeing the numbers on the testing App—you have nothing tangible to evaluate. Therefore, it is possible that speeds can be displayed by the apps based on their best configuration.
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Potential Bias in Speed Test Results
If a group of people conducts speed tests by pinging a nearby server configured for optimal performance, the results can then be aggregated to generate reports ranking telco performance. We believe, there can also be a possibility that speed test providers collaborate with telcos, further skewing the results. At best, speed tests can indicate the speeds enabled by a specific data plan but are not a definitive measure of real-world internet performance.
Conclusion
Now that you know your usage on the network and the type and amount of data you consume—whether on 4G/5G or broadband—it is up to you to decide if you are truly using the internet for what you are paying for or merely accessing cached content provided by telcos. We believe one can identify such telcos relying on such content, by examining their claims and service offerings.
Also in this Series:
Monetisation Saturation: Telcos Have Reached a Saturation Point with Limited Monetisation Prospects?
Spam/UCC: Spam, UCC Messages Find Their Way to Users Through RCS and OTT Apps?
Alternate Number: Is an Alternate Mobile Number a Must for Availing Services?
Postpaid in India: Has Postpaid Lost Its Appeal in India’s Telecom Industry?
4G/5G Monetisation: Monetising 4G and 5G: Key Takeaways to Date and What’s Next?
