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In the beginning of the internet era India, starting an internet café seemed to be the ‘in’ thing to do as it attracted loads of people. People from all walks of life visited internet cafes and they even paid up to Rs. 40 to Rs. 50 per hour. Today internet cafes are charging as less as Rs. 10 per hour but not all internet cafes attract crowd. Why are internet cafes not doing well? One of the major reasons could be that, today there are number of internet service providers in India. Due to the increasing competition in the industry, we can easily get residential broadband internet connection at a very low price. We can get broadband connection at as low as Rs. 300 or even lesser per month. This has reduced the number of people looking for internet cafes.

While reduction in the broadband internet tariff is one of the main reasons, another reason that fuels the fall of internet cafes is the availability of computers at a very cheap price. We can find a computer in almost all homes. Previously not everyone could own a computer in India. Now having a desktop PC or a laptop has become a basic necessity. Once people have a computer at home they want to make it a web enabled PC. This is another reason why fewer people turn up to the internet cafes.

Another major section of internet users that brought considerable revenue to the internet cafes is the group of businessmen and marketing executives. Today they too do not have to search for an internet café because of the mobile internet. We have WI-FI hotspots in a number places in India besides that all major telephone service providers including Airtel, BSNL, Reliance etc., have data cards that allow people to stay connected even as they travelled round the globe. So even this sector of internet users get all that they need without having to look for an internet café. All these reduce the revenue for internet cafes as they are left with a smaller group of people that would look for their services.

The internet cafes too cannot reduce the cost beyond certain limits. If they reduce the cost too much they will reduce their profit margins as they will have to provide a conducive environment, air conditioning and good infrastructure for their internet café and have enough support staff. All these become hindering factors for the internet cafes. As per the current trend, internet cafes do not have much scope. The number of broadband subscribers are increasing rapidly in India. Now with the talks on 3G network, the number of people who would go for mobile broadband will be high affecting the business for internet cafes across the country. If you are owning an internet café you should start thinking about something innovative to attract customers to your internet café.

newprouser

Many of the cafe's which I used to visit have turned to gaming as major source of income. But still people visit them for voice chat, since it they charge on hourly basis rather than data download.

harishsyndrome

Even now game centers are Going down as Many people started owning Game Consoles as their prices going down rapidly.

Only Centers which earned some names are getting some regular customers also Bachelor who stay away from home are still utilizing Net cafes

newprouser

but Multiplayer games are still a craze, CS and the like....

panchabhut

the internet cafes are still frequented by teenagers/youngsters who want to surf/chat outside the prying eyes of their family members. gaming is definitely another attraction.
plus many go there to get print-outs as having a printer at home is still a rarity.
they are also extensively used in metros by people who stay away from their homes, mostly in PG accomodations etc. and do not have the facility of internet that easily

newprouser

Good point !

meetdilip

I think it is still a hot spot if you do not live in a city. Semi urban locations is still to achieve a good computer population.

EdZee

The starting thread describes exactly the same situation of the internet cafe industry in the Philippines. Even the cost of renting a computer is the same (1 rupee = 1 peso). I wonder what the leaders of your internet cafe industry is doing to alleviate the status of the business.

kirankumargb

Ya thats true, People are getting some sort of net connection at home itself rather than going cafe.

panchabhut

Is it possible to freely and easily rent a PC in India?

kirankumargb

yes, i dont think there is any problem to rent here.