We all do. But free and super-fast internet sounds like a hypothetical thing. We are witnessing the launch of fast mobile data networks like 4G LTE all over the globe, but watching videos on these mobile networks can be an expensive affair. Amidst all these expensive 4G data networks, an Indian startup is planning to revolutionize the world.
SpeedFetch, a Delhi-based startup aimed at providing free and instant access to internet videos via its app, has tied up with Ozone WiFi for expanding its services.
“Speed and free content set SpeedFetch apart,” said Dipank Sharma, founder of SpeedFetch.
How Does It Work?
SpeedFetch, as its name suggests fetches content like Hollywood and Bollywood videos, games, etc. from the internet and stores them for offline access.
“It works through micro-caching where content resides on a Speed Fetch box, in a WiFi hotspot location, which allows for faster downloads. Since the download is via WiFi, the content is free of charge,” he explained.
Sharma has invested $2 million in his startup till date and plans to take it to the next level by tying up with Ozone networks.
The startup can provide real high speeds by letting its users stream their offline content via Ozone WiFi networks, but the real problem is the network backhaul.
“These speeds are real, but the challenge is the backhaul – fibre in the ground and backbone network – which requires a lot of capital investment (from WiFi provider),” said Prashant Singhal, global telecom practice head at consulting firm Ernst & Young.
SpeedFetch plans to offers speeds of up to 60 Mbps to its users, which is way faster than the current 3G and 4G networks in the country. While this is the ideal speed, the actual speeds are expected between 15-30 Mbps due to various factors like signal strength, network saturation, and the user’s location. These speeds will let you download a 1 GB video file within 5-10 minutes approximately.
Users will be able to download the content provided by SpeedFetch for free for the first day irrespective of their usage. After that, the users will have to buy hourly, daily, or weekly packs for using the internet. The startup is also reported to be in talks with investors for raising funds by diluting 26%-49% of equity.
The Future Plan…
SpeedFetch plans to use the funds raised by diluting its equity for expanding across 20,000 locations and having a consumer base of 50 million users.
Keeping in line with this, it aims to expand to 5,000 locations across the country to have a consumer base of 2 million users.
The offline-access market is growing with a rapid pace in India. The main reasons for this are expensive internet plans and patchy network coverage throughout the nation. The same was acknowledged by the internet giant Google, when it enabled offline YouTube access in India.
SpeedFetch App / Source
It’s good that something is out there that addresses the pain points of slow speed and high data costs. Will surely give it a try. What are some of the locations where Speed Fetch is available?
Hi!
I am the Chief Operating Officer at SpeedFetch India. With due respect to Prashant Singhal, they have not understood the SpeedFetch proposition. SpeedFetch does not depend on the internet at all. It is a solution to deliver content to the consumer in location, without being dependent on the Internet.
Regards,
Proloy Mitra
Proloy – Thanks for dropping by. As far as I understand, you pre-fetch the content from internet and store it on your servers…right? But then scalability is an issue, you obviously will have limited amount of content on your servers and I think that is a constraint. It would be nice if you can explain the process on how SpeedFetch works
Hi! Arun,
Do you download a 2.5 hr movie off 3G today? If not want is the reason?
We are addressing the population that the current applications do not address. 3G and 4G are expensive services, and most of India will never be able to download content in speed from an affordability standpoint. We are filling a gap in the content distribution market.
86-87% of data consumption in the world is done in a fixed location, we are interested in covering these high footfall locations. We are not focusing on the balance 15% at this moement, when we bag more exciting content, we will chase the 15% also ?.
Scalability is not an issue for SpeedFetch, since we are partnering WiFi service providers around India, and then the world.
From our test results, we are seeing a 100% growth in content downloads from the locations, without any marketing + advertising of the service on conventional routes. This is underlines our premise of the business.
SpeedFetch works in a very different way compared to the rest of the entertainment applications. It changes its network element, when in different network conditions. In a Ozone + SpeedFetch location the data transfer is FREE and HIGH Speed. Outside a location the application continues to be your content buddy, allowing you to download content from conventional internet.
Yes we prefetch content from the Internet, and the same is updated using conventional internet backhaul. So when the customer experiences SpeedFetch, he finds the blistering Speed.
Regards,
Proloy Mitra
Northeast india not improving 2g 3g internet even network coverage
Hi! Joseph,
We will be in the North East soon.
Please register your email address in SpeedFetch app, and we will notify you when the 5G of entertainment reaches the North East.
Regards,
Proloy