Why cloud gaming Is finally a telco business opportunity

As cloud gaming moves from concept to commercial reality, telecom operators are increasingly exploring its potential as a differentiated revenue stream.

In this interview with Voice&Data, Bikram Sherawat, President and Chief Operating Officer of OnMobileGlobal, outlines how advances in 5G and edge infrastructure are reshaping the gaming ecosystem, why emerging markets like India are central to the cloud gaming opportunity, and how OnMobile is leveraging its 25-year legacy of deep telco integrations to build scalable, affordable AAA gaming platforms. 

Bikram also shares insights into the company’s broader gaming strategy, AI-led innovation, and growth priorities over the coming years. 

Cloud gaming has been discussed for years, but adoption has been uneven. What has changed, particularly with 5G, to make platforms like OnMobile commercially viable today?

Cloud gaming was, in many ways, ahead of its time. Today, the ecosystem has matured. Gaming is now a nearly USD 400 billion global industry, growing at around 30 per cent, with the majority of gamers playing on mobile devices.

Our proposition is to bring a virtual console to any device, not just smartphones, but tablets, laptops and connected screens. Traditionally, AAA games require expensive hardware such as an Xbox, PlayStation or high-end PC, costing USD 500–600. In emerging markets like India, very few consumers can afford that.

With advances in 5G, and even proven performance on 4G and 4.5G, we can now deliver a console-like experience without the need for expensive hardware. Processing happens on OnMobile’s infrastructure, while we work with telcos to offer this at an affordable price point.

We’ve tested the technology extensively and are in active discussions with several operators. In FY 2026, consumers should begin experiencing this through our telco partners.

Our differentiation goes beyond technology. It is about experience, affordability, and distribution. This is our 25th year at OnMobile, and telcos are in our DNA. Since entering gaming in 2021, we’ve grown from one customer to 124 deployments, working with 60+ operators and serving 13 million subscribers globally.

Where does cloud gaming sit within a telco’s broader digital services stack?

Telecom is a capital-intensive industry with limited pricing power. Data consumption keeps rising, but ARPUs remain under pressure. The key question for telcos is: where does incremental revenue come from?

Cloud gaming is not just another digital add-on. It is a strategic, differentiated service, especially for young, prepaid-driven markets like India, Africa and Latin America. Telcos have seen strong engagement uplift from OTT bundling; cloud gaming takes this further by offering AAA gaming across devices.

It requires deep integration and edge infrastructure, which makes it a long-term strategic partnership rather than a short-term value-added service.

How does OnMobile handle mixed network environments where 5G coverage is still uneven?

People often forget the role of Wi-Fi and broadband. Most gaming happens indoors. We are adding mobility to traditional console gaming, allowing users to play anywhere, on 5G, 4G or broadband.

We’ve tested this extensively on 4G, and it works well. Cloud gaming is fully streamed, there’s no downloading, and we see strong latent demand among young gamers. As 5G coverage expands, adoption will only accelerate.

What are your priorities as President and COO of OnMobile Global?

Revenue is critical, but balance is equally important. Our legacy businesses, ringback tones, music and video, remain profitable and fund innovation. We still serve 55 million RBT subscribers globally.

In 2021, we consciously pivoted towards gaming while continuing to scale our core businesses. Today, our gaming subscriptions span 54 countries.

We are also building platform-based offerings, including a gaming platform that allows telcos to offer a curated game ecosystem, similar to an app store. Operationally, my focus is on execution, governance, leadership depth and KPI-driven performance.

How is OnMobile’s cloud streaming infrastructure different from conventional game streaming models?

The key difference is scalability. Traditionally, one GPU supports one game session. We’ve enabled four to six concurrent games per GPU, which significantly improves efficiency and allows us to price the service affordably.

What role does AI play across your products?

AI plays a role across multiple layers. While we don’t develop games ourselves, we focus on the experience layer, analytics, and go-to-market.

AI helps us improve onboarding, engagement, repeat usage, and player matchmaking. Gamers care deeply about rankings, statistics, and fair competition, and AI enables that intelligence at scale.

From an organisational perspective, we take a very pragmatic view of AI. It’s a process, not a magic bullet. Many AI initiatives fail because companies aren’t data-ready or underestimate cost and complexity.

We’ve invested heavily in internal automation. For example, a global firmware release that once took weeks can now be completed in under 25 minutes using our proprietary automation platform. We’ve also established an AI Centre of Excellence at the board level to drive both product innovation and operational efficiency.

What strategies are driving revenue acceleration across SaaS,CPaaS gaming, and digital services?

More than half of our engagements operate on a managed services model,we grow when our telco partners grow. Our regional teams work closely with operators on daily marketing and monthly go-to-market plans.

Since joining last July, I’ve focused on large platform deals and licence-based models. Products like our gaming platform and enterprise offering Buzmo are being positioned as scalable platforms rather than point solutions.

The strategy is simple: strong governance, motivated teams, disciplined execution, and the willingness to learn from failures. Growth follows.

Which segment will drive growth over the next five to ten years?

Gaming is our clear growth engine. We expect gaming subscriptions to reach a USD 2 million monthly run rate by March 2026.

Beyond subscriptions, our gaming platform and cloud gaming offering open up much larger opportunities, from communities and content to premium AAA experiences. We are already in advanced discussions with telcos globally.

How important is regional content for India?

They are absolutely critical. India changes every few kilometres, language, culture, preferences. Regional content has always driven adoption, whether in ringback tones, music, or video.

That said, OnMobile is not a content factory. We are a technology and distribution company. We work with over 200 content partners globally, including T-Series, regional Indian labels, African publishers, and European media houses.

What needs to change for cloud gaming to become mainstream, networks, content, or consumer behaviour?

All three evolve together. Look at music streaming, it moved from cassettes to CDs, piracy, MP3s, and finally streaming subscriptions. Consumption changed because of ease and accessibility.

Gaming will follow the same path. Mobile gaming has already exploded. Cloud gaming is simply the next step as connectivity improves and content becomes more accessible globally.

We are being deliberate in our approach, working only with telcos that see long-term value and are willing to build the ecosystem properly.

How will emerging technologies like standalone 5G shape the future?

They will enhance the experience, higher resolution, lower latency, immersive formats. Today, we stream at 1080p. Tomorrow, it could be 4K, AR/VR-enabled experiences, and stadium-like immersion at home.

For the next 24 months, our focus is execution, scaling what we’ve built through telco partnerships and creating sustainable revenue streams. As networks improve, our reach and potential will only expand.