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Net cafes
MEN HAVE short memories. For that matter women have shorter. It was not many years ago that they poured their hearts out on any piece of paper and used to put them into the red coloured post boxes to their loved ones with great zest and passion. Well, the mails were delivered in not more than a week in any part of world. Later, when the `trendy' realised that they did not have that much time to spare in a world where real hot pace was the buzzword, they dumped the `snail mails' and jumped for the much quicker e-mails.
The Internet soon turned into such a powerful medium, bringing the world closer, much more than anyone would have dreamt in their wildest dreams. It also opened up a world of knowledge and information at the click of the mouse. The Internet is perhaps the greatest thing to have happened in a long, long time.
Loads of men and women would probably agree to this. But spare a thought for the numerous Internet cafes that have sprung up, like mushrooms, almost everywhere. They were doing brisk business, but are now going through really tough times. With individuals preferring to surf the net in the comfort of their drawing rooms, those small timers in the business, with less than say five PCs, are genuinely feeling the pressure.
"Internet cafes are not at the charming business that it used to be sometime ago," states Anoop N. Das, Cybertracs, Thripunithura. His café was one of the first of that kind in that area. "With the competition turning really hot, we had to bring down the rates and also provide the best facilities. Now almost everyone charges around Rs. 20 per hour. The telephone bills and the maintenance costs make it really difficult to provide facilities at that rate. Perhaps, the fact that I run the café in my own building, helps me tremendously though," adds Mr. Das.
His arguments are almost echoed by most of those in the business today, like Vinod of Blitz Internet Café in the city. He feels that he has been able to survive only because he could almost recover the initial investment over these years.
"These days it is tough to make profits with just an Internet Café," feels Jayakumar V.K, Hi Tech IT Centre, Thripunithura. He runs the Cute Cable Network and a video CD library, both housed in the same building. "The customers insist on privacy, speed, web cams and also want the comfort of an airconditioned cubicle. All this means that the maintenance costs shoots up every month."
Customers prefer to opt for those places where privacy, the right feel and surfing speed are ensured. At the Asianet Dataline centre, near Panampilly Nagar, where an eight-hour surfing coupon is offered at Rs.100, there are close to 30 PCs, including a few `closed cabins,' Even the other cubicles ensure `enough privacy'. V. Sreekumar, Business Development Manager with Asianet Dataline feels that the customers flock to cafes that provide these facilities. "The number of persons who use the Internet purely for academic purposes are comparatively less. A substantial number of net-buffs are looking for fun," he adds. Most of the net users demand web cams too and Asianet is considering extending the `pay by minute offer' to its franchisees too.
The Satyam i-way chains, which have started net cafes in almost every part of the city, claiming to be "cafes designed in a style of their own," have just shifted from the per minute charges to 15 minute slabs, which has obviously let down their existing customers. "But we have slashed the rates from Rs.25 to Rs.20 per hour. So that will not be a problem for the existing customers," argues Vinod Mathew Varghese, Manager-Internet Sales of Sify. Now they have floated the Rs.15 per hour `Happy Hour' package too, in most of their cafes.
"We have great plans for development," says Vinod, "which means we are all set to introduce the i-way chains to some of the other places in the state too. The i-ways are always noted for its speed and the ambience, where we ensure maximum privacy for the customers." The i-ways have card system, which can be used, in any of their franchisees across the country. "We also ensure amazing downloading speed and the unique software wipes out all traces of the files that you used, which prevents anyone else from tracking your online activities," adds Manoj Krishnan of Sify.
"Speed does matter," feels Vineet Pillai, a regular net buff. "But in chat rooms and all, once you get logged in, speed will be almost the same," his friend Joseph reveals his expertise in the craft.
In most of the cafes there is provision for scanning, printing and even CD writing. But some of them have restrictions in using floppy disks and CDs. "The virus threat is indeed there. Moreover, the opportunity to watch CDs in private will certainly be misused by many, especially the youngsters, opines a café owner.
With the Internet market busy offering newer facilities and options for the net savvy and importantly, "for those who are not yet into its amazing prospects," ultimately it is the customer who benefits in the bargain. Though the number of individual connections is shooting up, the verdict from most of those who are seriously into the net is that "surfing at the net cafes is convenient and even profitable, especially considering the speed." The opinion of the majority who just "cut and paste" the already typed messages and log out of the net in a matter seconds are not, of course, counted in this case.
VIJAY GEORGE
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