Internet kiosks to widen their bouquet of services to stay afloat

It did not take much time for dotcoms to become 'dotgones'. A similar fate

awaits many of the cyber cafes unless they 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 cyber 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 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 and filing of petitions to Police, are

some of the new offerings. "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," he adds.

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, some could be

collect and forward arrangements for bill payments and courier  collection.

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 rates to industrial rates.

"We are now paying Rs seven 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-Rs 25," says

Manoj, who entered this business foregoing a lucrative career in software

development in Bangalore. According to Manoj, those having air conditioned



cabins are destined to suffer more with browsing rates coming down due to stiff
competition.

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

lucrative business proposition as Internet boom was 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 'negative image' created by media about its negative impact



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

Internet's benefits 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 the kiosks as its demand continues to be flat. Instead

there is even now a rush to use PC-to-PC connectivity tools that are available

for free on the net. It has been found that kiosks that offer a variety of

related services also stand to gain by more business volume - desktop

publishing, photo copying, CD writing, public telephone, lamination, to name a

few, although space and investment required for it would be higher.

The concept of public call offices (PCOs) during the pre-Internet era was a

success mainly because of its low investment and high utility for public. In

1998 the National Task Force on IT had recommended the conversion of public call

offices into tele-information kiosks in tune with the needs of the Internet era.

However, not much initiative has come from BSNL - the largest service provider

in the telecom segment. Emails have affected the flow of snail mails and

Department of Posts is planning to provide money change, sale of application

forms, foreign exchange and other services to stay afloat.

In the convergence age, any public service that requires sustainable

operations need to add newer offerings to its 'services bouquet' according to

changing technologies and conditions or face the prospect of extinction. Perhaps

the e-shringala concept has to be emulated and improved upon.

CYBER NEWS SERVICE



THIRUVANANTHAPURAM