Facelift for Cybercafes

It did not take much time for dot-coms to become ‘dotgones’. A similar

fate awaits many of the cyber cafes unless they can increase the bouquet of

services offered to the public. In Kerala, a public-private initiative is being

undertaken to enhance the value of existing Internet kiosks and ensure

viability. Titled ‘e-shringala’, the project undertaken by public sector

Keltron is to be implemented in 200 cafes to begin with. "The significance

of the project is that it does not entail any new capital investment on the part

of cyber cafes," according to SS Manoj, State President of Internet Cafe

and DTP Owners Association of Kerala (ICDAK), which is associated with the

project.

Very

soon, kiosks might give people the facility of cash withdrawal of upto Rs 5,000

using their credit card (of course after paying a higher service charge),

provide online share trading and ticket reservation for buses, trains and cinema

halls.

Downloading and supply of government applications and forms, sale of

university and entrance examination forms, filing of petitions to the police,

etc. are some of the new offerings in the offing. "The project is

advantageous for both the public and cyber cafes. The former will get many of

its services at its door-step because of the wider reach of cafes even in remote

parts of the state while cafes stand to gain revenue through service

charges," says Manoj. "The cafes that provide the new facilities would

sport the e-shringala logo and name board."

In rural areas, information related to farming such as market price

movements, weather information, government programs, policies, subsidies and

details regarding modern scientific practices could also be disseminated through

the cafes. The facilities could be both online and offline, which include

collecting and forwarding arrangements for bill payments and collection of

material sent via courier. Originally the plan was to set up separate kiosks in

association with local bodies for the e-shringala project when ICDAK with 700

members came forward offering its existing infrastructure for the project.

In Kerala, the ICDAK has also requested the government to reduce the tariff

for cyber cafes currently charged at commercial to industrial rates. "We

are now paying Rs 7 per unit for electricity and other overhead costs have made

this business unviable.

Even with a browsing rate of Rs 30 per hour we can just break even but the

current rate is Rs 20-25," says Manoj who entered this business forgoing a

lucrative career in software development in Bangalore.

Many people rushed into the cyber kiosk business perceiving it to be a

lucrative proposition, as the Internet boom proved irresistible for many.

"According to estimates there were more than 2,000 cafes in the state but

now there are hardly 1,200," says Manoj. The mad rush to kiosks has come

down thanks to the ‘negative image’ created by the media about the negative

impact of the Internet on youth and children, according to Manoj. Now the

association is also undertaking promotional activities for cyber cafes by

organizing painting competitions for children and encouraging their family

members to learn about the benefits of the Internet through interactive seminars

and sessions conducted in various parts of the state.

The introduction of IP telephony that heralded the cheaper PC-to-phone

connectivity did not help kiosks, as demand continues to be flat. Instead, there’s

a rush now to use PC-to-PC connectivity tools–available for free on the Net.

It has been found that kiosks which offer a variety of related services also

stand to gain by more business volume–desktop publishing, photocopying,

CD-writing, public telephony, lamination to name a few although space and

investment required for these extra facilities would be higher.

R Sreekumar



Cyber News Service