The Internet Café Industry in South Africa Ramon Thomas

Presentation on theme: "The Internet Café Industry in South Africa Ramon Thomas"— Presentation transcript:

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3 The Internet Café Industry in South Africa Ramon Thomas ramon@netucation.co.za www.netucation.co.za

4 Introduction Background What is an Internet Café? What are the worldwide trends? What is status quo in South Africa?

5 What is an Internet Café? A café or shop that provides Internet Access to the public at a fee Community access Helps to bridge the digital divide

6 The Internet Café Timeline 1994: Café Cyberia, London 1995: Suba, Chicago & Milky Way, Joburg 1998: Iran, segregated 2000: Irbid, Jordan, 130 on a single street 2004: 20,000 in 171 countries

7 Taiwan 2001: 700 Internet Cafes 2002: 4,000 due to boom in PC Games Value R2.5 billion!!

8 India 50,000 Internet Cafes Satyam Infoway set-up 2,000 cybercafés across 67 cities in 3 years Half-million users a month

9 South Africa 135 Internet Cafes (NETucation) 18 Citizens Post Offices (240 sites) 600 PiT 32 Digital Villages (Microsoft) 196 Telecentres

10 Provincial Breakdown

11 Franchises & Branches Odyssey Internet Café (10) 3@1 Communications (19) Jetline (10)

12 Pricing Models Average Hourly Rate = R27 Lowest = R6 per hour Highest = R75 per hour

13 Computers & other Peripherals Average = 9 Lowest is 1 or 2 Highest is 29 (including laptops) Printers = 1.7 Scanners = 1.3

14 Operating Hours Average = 12 6% operate 24x7 44% closed on Sundays

15 Bandwidth ADSL MyWireless Diginet ISDN

16 The Future? Wi-Fi Hotspots Cheaper Internet access Support from ISPA, et al.

17 Thank You Contact Details: Ramon Thomas ramon@netucation.co.za 082-940-7137