QUOTE
THREE to five Internet cafes in Cebu close down every month due to stiff competition, Internet Café Association of Cebu president Felix Cogal Jr. said.
Cogal said the trend of closure is ongoing despite the opening of more Internet cafes in Cebu.
“The industry is suffering. Some cafes charge as low as P5 to P8 per hour for Internet use from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.,” he said.
Because of an “unequal playing field” Cogal said, “illegal operators who have lesser investments” continue to charge lower affecting those who are operating legally.
He added that most of the Internet café operators affected are those who have less than 20 computer units in their cafes.
Numbers game
However, Internet café operators are better able to capture their market through a “numbers game.”
“The more computer units a café has, the bigger the market you have especially for on-line gamers,” Cogal said.
Meanwhile, Cogal also stressed on the growing concern of the “no cubicle rule” in all Internet cafes as part of the association’s campaign against on-line pornography.
“We don’t give accreditation to cafes with cubicles. We put up warning signs and filtering software on all accredited cafes,” Cogal said.
Pornography
He said earlier that cubicles give Internet users the chance to do “malicious acts” or view pornographic web sites.
The matter has concerned local government officials and some sectors due to reports that some women and children engage in cyber pornography due to the absence of a law regulating and punishing the act.
Cogal said that the association, in its responsility to educate its members against cybersex in Internet cafes, have “humanwares” or “personnel in charge of reprimanding customers who try to access pornographic sites.”
“We are very happy with how the City Anti-Indecency Board has been addressing the problem,” he said. (MMM)
Cogal said the trend of closure is ongoing despite the opening of more Internet cafes in Cebu.
“The industry is suffering. Some cafes charge as low as P5 to P8 per hour for Internet use from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.,” he said.
Because of an “unequal playing field” Cogal said, “illegal operators who have lesser investments” continue to charge lower affecting those who are operating legally.
He added that most of the Internet café operators affected are those who have less than 20 computer units in their cafes.
Numbers game
However, Internet café operators are better able to capture their market through a “numbers game.”
“The more computer units a café has, the bigger the market you have especially for on-line gamers,” Cogal said.
Meanwhile, Cogal also stressed on the growing concern of the “no cubicle rule” in all Internet cafes as part of the association’s campaign against on-line pornography.
“We don’t give accreditation to cafes with cubicles. We put up warning signs and filtering software on all accredited cafes,” Cogal said.
Pornography
He said earlier that cubicles give Internet users the chance to do “malicious acts” or view pornographic web sites.
The matter has concerned local government officials and some sectors due to reports that some women and children engage in cyber pornography due to the absence of a law regulating and punishing the act.
Cogal said that the association, in its responsility to educate its members against cybersex in Internet cafes, have “humanwares” or “personnel in charge of reprimanding customers who try to access pornographic sites.”
“We are very happy with how the City Anti-Indecency Board has been addressing the problem,” he said. (MMM)
Sun.Star