It seems like crappy networks are the norm nowadays, and the preference of the ISPs is to offer the web only. You need a middle box just to access the internet

It seems like crappy networks are the norm nowadays, and the preference of the ISPs is to offer the web only. You need a middle box just to access the internet at-large (e.g Tor). Masquerading traffic as web traffic appears to be a good tactic, though inefficient/sloppy.