I am an IT Professional & I have been supporting my brother cybercafe since last 7 years, even we have felt pains of running cyber cafe business @ risk of internet security & compliance with head aches & very low profit margins. Major change that i’ve observed is that change to comply security solution are available but not always possible due to financial limitation & improper norms to be forced under cyber security. I strictly beleave that all cybercafe should come under single umbrella for business impovement/opportunity, security compliance etc & approach the goverment with big force for change. We have been looking for alternate business to get rid from cyber cafe business & have not gained much..

Let me know if any help is required for good cause.

Regards,
Kalpesh S

You can check the Nielson survey report available at http://www.ideacts.com/Cyber_Cafe_Audience_Profiling_Nielsen_2009.pdf

I actually landed on this post while searching for statistics on cyber cafe’s in India. I assume that you have a lot of knowledge in this area. It would be of great help if you could provide me with some pointers on on where I could get statistics for Cyber cafes in India? e.g. number of cyber cafes, average people visiting them daily, avg hourly charges, monthly revenues etc.

Best regards!

The correct expression is that I think I have tried to bring an appropriate technology to India which meets my wish that Cyber Cafes remain compliant without losing business.

You must read carefully the article of 2002 which I have linked above which is a vision to create E Bridge Centers who will make money by providing different services.

Since 2002, I did not come across a proper solution which could focus on Cyber law Compliance and also provide opportunities for revenue generation as I thought it required.

We tried to bring together a group of people in Chennai to develop Cyber Law compliance as a voluntary measure so that we could lobby with the Police for not harassing the Cyber cafes. The response was not adequate.

Many Cyber Cafe owners are happy to be non compliant and manage the risks in other manner.

The technology which was represented by the other speaker is being modified to suit Indian conditions and to meet the ITA 2008. They are accepting suggestions made by me, by the Police and other regulatory authorities. It is therefore a product structured exclusively as a model project. I am therefore supportive of it. I may also publicly promote it since it meets what I want.

You should also see my note on “Public Private Partnership” in Cyber Security available now on http://www.naavi.org where I have explained my theory that Public Private Partnership with participation of NGOs and the project beneficiaries themselves is an ideal way to build sustainability on such projects.

This project represents such an attempt and therefore I am proud to be part of it.

In the Cyber cafe project as I am conceiving, I have many ideas which will enhance the revenue of the cyber cafes. First we want to make the solution free by generating revenue which will be credited to the reduction of the cost which itself would be modest. Then we may work on generating surplus.

It is too early to speak about all this since the success of the E Bridge Center concept lies in the numbers. If we get 50% plus of karnataka cyber cafes joining the scheme, it would be beneficial to all. If the conversion is very low.. say less than 20 %, may be all my ideas will not fructify. In that case, I will think that It has taken 7 years since 2002 to come to the current stage and may be the time is still not ripe.

If the conversion is 100%, then the service may come at no cost even to start with and further services would be added to the network one by one to make Cyber Cafe business not merely profitable but lucrative. This is the dream I have carried forward from 2002 and will continue to pursue because I consider that Cyber Cafes are an important part of our society bridging the digital divide and creating tiny entrepreneurs.During an earlier part of my career, I have been a rural bank manager and have found immense satisfaction in providing opportunities for small entrepreneurs. I am now feeling that a similar opportunity exists in promoting the cause of Cyber Cafes.

I however keep the security interests of the nation paramount and hence I have a strong bias to security and regulations which I agree could be uncomfortable for Cyber Cafes. I however believe that I can pursue strict regulation along with a balancing promotion of the business interests of Cyber Cafes.

I suppose you would appreciate the principle.