PUNE: After the use of Internet shot up in India around late 90s, cyber cafes sprang up at every corner of the city to offer access to it to the the common man. Not everyone owned a computer then and Internet connections were rare.
However, today, with the arrival of smartphones and cheap data packs from telecom companies that have brought the Internet within the reach of people from lower income groups as well, cyber cafes had no option but to reinvent themselves to survive. Around two decades ago, they would charge Rs 1 per minute from customers wanting to surf the Net. Then the charges dipped, with well-to-do cyber cafes charging just Rs 10 per hour.
Today, a person can use the Internet for an entire day on their smartphones in Rs 10.
A quick search on Google Maps showed a handful of cyber cafes in their listing. However, a spot check revealed that most of these have shut down permanently. The ones that are still functioning are barely surviving.
MORE THAN CYBER CAFES
Omkar from GameOn Cyber Cafe and Game Zone, Narayan Peth said they have a gaming zone as well and people frequent there more instead of the cyber cafe.
According to Mohit Taui, Manager of Cafe Katta, Shaniwar Peth, the business has certainly decreased. “People come here only to fill their applications or exam forms. In a day, we get only 7 to 8 people,” he said. At that time, Pooja Chavan, a student happened to visit Cafe Katta. “My laptop broke down and so I came here to fill my MPSC form. Otherwise I don’t come here at all!” she said.
SMARTPHONES TAKE OVER
Arwa Nadeem, a student from Fergusson College, said, “I stopped going to cyber cafes a long time ago. If I don’t have Internet, I use my friend’s Wi-Fi hotspot or I go to a cafe with free Wi-Fi. I would rather pay for my coffee than pay for Internet at a cyber cafe.”
“Everyone uses their phones these days and even photocopy shops now have their own Internet. People come here only if they have some urgent and necessary work. Cyber cafes are essentially non-existent,” concluded Taui.
BUSINESS HIT DRASTICALLY
Pansari Mohit of Rupali Cyber Cafe, Shivajinagar, said, “We often help those who come for paying their fees and filling their forms. They no longer check their social media accounts like Facebook or email here as they have their own mobile data packs.”
For Sapna Kulkarni at Global Net Access, FC Road, the business has reduced drastically. “We actually have two floors and once upon a time, both would be occupied. But now, it’s only once in a while that we have to send someone on the first floor,” she remarked.
