ApiAp's Diary

Its all HOAX : Mumbai Police plan for keyloggers in Cyber cafes

2007-10-13T20:09:00.000+05:30

A news report filed in the Mumbai based tabloid Mid-Day informed about a plan to install a surveillance systems in Mumbai Cyber Café which would have intruded the privacy and security of ordinary Mumbai netizens has finally been proved to be a hoax. Installation of such surveillance tool is akin to tapping everyone’s telephone lines. The report was hotly debated over several news groups & the blogosphere. Questions were raised on the credibility of various security experts & Mumbai Police's competence. We at ApiAp tried our best to verify the news report. The author of the news article stood by his report & refused to divulge the source of information. Inquiries with the Mumbai Cyber cell, who would have been normally be in charge of such an action remained unanswered. Let with no option , we were forced to seek the information by invoking our rights under the Govt of India's law of Right to Information Act 2005 .

We asked :

Number of Cyber Cafes registered with the Mumbai Police as on 29th August 2007., THE NEWS REPORT MENTIONED 500 INTENRET CAFES.
Clarify on any authorization given by Mumbai Police to the Foundation for Information Security And Technology, headed by Mr. Vijay Mukhi to make public statements on policy matters or conduct inquires on procurement of service or material for a consideration. ; THE NEWS REPORT IMPLICATED MR VIJAY MUKHI HAS BEEN AUTHORISED TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF MUMBAI POLICE.
Any notice issued to install a monitoring surveillance tools in each cyber café. If yes, under what clause/rule of which act/law, the notice is served. . TO ADDRESS THE QUESTION IF ANYONE HAS BEEN ORDERED TO INSTALL SUCH SYSTEM.
The nature of dialogue with M/S Micro Technologies for procuring software called CRAMS. THE NEWS REPORT EXPLICITLY MENTIONED MUMBAI POLICE IS IN A DIALOGUE WITH THE COMPANY. Finally the Truth is out ! In response to our request under the RTI act, the office of the Mumbai police commissioner has denied on taking any such actions, It is noteworthy to know only 38 cyber cafe have been registered with the Mumbai Police ! & as of 12th OCT, 2007 - only 72 applications have been made to the office. This also vindicates our stand on lengthy compliances will be a failure and bigger risk to the cyber security. Its a relief to unearth the truth, but an irreparable damage is done to the businesses & consumer confidence. We wish our journalist & Regulatory forces alike had access to more credible experts on complex subjects like Cyber Security. The so called guardians of the city has shown some accountability in their public service.

Our name just got a little bit longer

2006-06-17T17:52:00.000+05:30

On 4th April 2006, We changed our name from Association of Public Internet Access Provider to Association of Public Information Communication Technology Tools Access Provider we can go as short as Association of Public ICT tools Access Provider. Of course the acronym still remains the same i.e. ApiAp. Two short reasons for the long name: We started as an advocacy group for Cyber Café operators to convey its contribution to the society. But we realize, Internet is just one amongst many tools to get information access to the masses. Public Telephone call office ( PCO ), are more prevalent. Community Radio is more effective in spreading information amongst the read/ write incapable populace. Community Internet network is a near possibility. In the shared access domain all face identical issues: sustainability, grim future prospects but tremendous potential. And the legal issues faced in operating shared access environment. Hence to make the platform more representative of the common interest of the stakeholders we decided to broaden the name. ApiAp will strive to make entrepreneurial opportunities in ICT sector at grassroots level more accessible. We have migrated to a new web site do visit us at http://www.apiap.org

Cyber Safety Week workshop for cyber Cafes concludes successfully

2005-11-30T14:58:00.000+05:30

The workshop for Cyber Cafe operators held under the aegis of Mumbai Police & NASSCOM's “Cyber Safety Week” concluded successfully. The venue at Mumbai suburb turned out to be very convenient. Over 100 Cyber Cafe operators from Mumbai suburbs & satellite townships attended the event. Rupa Naik of AIAI & Ashish saboo of ApiAp were the co-organizers on behalf of Mumbai Police & NASSCOM. C-DAC - NCST 's Janabharatti team hosted the event by providing the venue & snacks. Thank you Mr George , Director Admin, C-DAC & Dr Alka Irani , Chief Investigator , Janabharatti for your support. The Event begun with a welcome note by Ms Rupa Naik, executive director, AIAI, To set the session rolling, it began by an introductory presentation of the Cyber Café industry in India by Ashish Saboo, President of ApiAp. Mr Nanadakumar Sarawade, Director, Cyber Security & Surveillance, NASSCOM shared with the audience, on the possible cyber security threats in a Internet Café, He also helped clarified many issues on Cyber laws and the conduct of various regulatory agencies. Mr. Rajiv Vaishnav - Regional Director (Western Region), NASSCOM, shared his perspective in Cyber Café’s role in bringing Internet awareness to the masses. Ms Preeti Desai, President of Internet & Mobile Association of India offered a wonderful insight on Cyber café users E-commerce Activities. & How Cyber Cafes can be keen drivers in India's e-volution. For the members mired with cutthroat competition, Ms Desai’s presentation offered an interesting food for thought. Mr R.N.Bhaskar, Chairman E-convergence Technologies Limited further reinforced Ms Desai’s view by adding how every Cyber café can turn into a learning center. Prof Jitendra Shah, Consultant, Department of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra, shared his view on the potential role f Internet Cafes in E-governance, He offered a wonderful thought that, instead of “Internet Cafes being known as a place you spend money it should be looked as a place where you visit to earn money. Data processing is a significant task where Internet café ready made infrastructure can be of great help. Prof Shah & Mr Swapnil Hazare gave a brief demo of data processing in Indian regional language using Janabharatti , a free localized open source software. Each of the speaker reinforced that there are a lot of opportunity for small cyber café operators, provided they make efforts to make their business place safe and welcoming to new opportunities . Officials from the Mumbai Cyber Cell, Inspector P C Chinchalkar, Shekhar Tore, Thane Police , shared their concerns on how Cyber Cafes were misused by some anti social elements and offered tips to safeguard their centers. The event also provided an opportunity to Cyber café operators to come out and express their problems they faced. Imposter understood well of the lack of clarity on Cyber Laws and general lack of awareness amongst the operators and took undue advantage of the situation and many fake raids were conducted. ApiAp had detailed the modus operandi but it is the first time many operators felt confident to come out and speak. We hope this event and hopefully more such event will be organized in future will help build confidence and contribute the Intern kiosk operators cooperation in making Indian cyber space safe.

Event for cyber cafes in Mumbai, India

2005-11-21T12:57:00.000+05:30

Association of Public Internet Access Provider ( ApiAp )

All India Association of Industries ( AIAI )

Cordially invite you to a discussion on

“Cyber Cafes future prospects and Challenges”

On Thursday, 24th November, 2005 from 3.45 p.m. onwards . At

The Auditorium, C-DAC-(NCST),

Gulmohar Cross Road No.9, Juhu, Mumbai 400 049 Panelists Invited

Mr. N. Sarwade, Director, Cyber Security & Surveillance NASSCOM

He will discuss on potential Cyber Security threats from Cyber Cafe & how ot make a cyber cafe safe.

Prof. Jitendra Shah,

IT Consultant,

Department of Information TechnologyGovernment of Maharashtra

Will shares his thoughts on opportunity in e-governance for Cyber cafe

Ms. Preeti Desai President Internet and Mobile Association of India

Mr.R. N. Bhaskar Chairmane-convergence Technologies

will offer perspective from the Internet Businesses on how they would like to partnet with Cyber Cafes

Dr. Sanjay Apranti Deputy Commissioner of Police, Enforcement, Mumbai

Will share his thoughts on How cyber cafes can contribute in making the cyber world safer

How to reach:

By Bus from Andheri Station : No 221 / 203 / 256

Landmark :

Close to Reliance Web World , Opp : Juhu Supreme Shopping Centre

ApiAp's feedback on the proposed draft revision on IT act 2000 in India

2005-09-17T20:15:00.000+05:30

To, Hon’ble Minister for Communications and Information Technology, The Hon’ble members, The expert committee on the amendments to IT ACT 2000. At the outset, on behalf of the Association of Public Internet Access Provider, I compliment the esteemed members of the expert committee for their efforts in re drafting the IT act 2000 and inviting us the citizen of India to participate in this historic reframing of an important law. About us: Our organization offers the platform for numerous independent micro entrepreneurs offering shared Internet access in Public places, popularly termed as ‘Cyber Café’. With the ownership of computers and requisite software to be more than twice the annual income of a common man in India, Our members makes effort to bring in the various Information Communication tools to a price point acceptable to the common consumer thus our vast dispersed and marginal players contribute immensely in bridging the digital divide in our country. On behalf of these numerous micro entrepreneurs, I wish to draw the attention of the honorable members of the expert committee on a few issues related to our member’s trade. While a major effort of the expert committee has gone is redefining certain terminologies used in the act, prominently figured is change of word Digital to Electronic. I pray on the same pattern the revised act does not offer as a harbinger to the third draft where in the new terminologies are clarified. The case in point in the use & definition of terms like ‘Intermediate’, & ‘Cyber café’ Term 'Intermediary' has been defined in Chapter I, Section 2(w). "Intermediary" with respect to any particular electronic record means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that record or provides any service with respect to that electronic record; We feel the above definition does not clearly distinguishes nor represents the role of numerous participants in the Information Technology arena and may lead to ambiguity & may take the judiciary’s precious time in clearing the term this may impact the several regulations proposed on this definition. The role of various participants in the Information & Technology arena needs to be better understood and needs to distinguish their role as an Intermediary and/or Facilitator I quote Cambridge Advanced Learner’s dictionary: Intermediary noun [C] Someone who carries messages between people who are unwilling or unable to meet: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=41483&dict=CALD & Facilitator noun [C] As enabling other people to work in the way that suits them best. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=27498&dict=CALD Certain participant's role is as much as a facilitator like network service providers, Internet service providers, search engines including on-line auction sites, online-market places , shared Information, communication tools ( ICT) service provider. It is important that we appreciate, the opportunity that Internet offers to explore as a ‘facilitator’, which effectively makes information accessible which until now would not have been feasible for small players. Like online market place company E-bay has brought small merchandiser an easy access to the world market. The roles & responsibility do differ in delivery and execution of the contract . I request the honorable members to dwell further on the terminologies. Further Under the term ' Intermediary' you propose to: include, but not limited to, telecom service providers, network service providers, Internet service providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines including on-line auction sites, online-market places, and Cyber Cafes. Sirs, the nomenclature ' Cyber Cafe' is an undefined term but only a popular phrase which have a very broad interpretation. In the Western Europe, Cyber Cafe term, has been variously defined as "An Internet cafe--or cyber café--is a place where one can "rent" or use a computer with Internet access. Usually per minute or per hour fee is charged. In general, there is usually a drink service in an Internet cafe" (Retrieved : http://goeurope.about.com/od/cybercafes/f/internet_cafe.htm Retrieved on 17th Sept 2005, 6.27 pm ) Thus entertainment and fine dining is the quintessential reason of existence of a Cyber Café. In the Indian context, such a term is a misnomer. The high cost and lack of sufficient orientation of the use of ICT tools is raison d’être of shared computing access. The business model known popularly as cyber cafe is truly transient and may perhaps extinguish ones the costs are reached within the means and the orientation sufficiently acquired . Thus the term 'Cyber Cafe " should suitably changed to " shared ICT tools provider " and which should reflect the following attributes : "open to the general public to access the Internet, other network facilities and/or a variety of information communication technology tools on a temporary contract basis (pay per use) without the necessity for the users to own hardware or software themselves." ( http://www.ci-journal.net/viewarticle.php?id=68&layout=html Retrieved on 17th Sept, 2005 ) The current meaning attributed to " Cyber cafe " as in 2C " Cyber Café means a place where access to electronic form is provided to the public " may lead to multiple interpretation. " if a vendor who provided the service of copying video clippings on to the mobiles. may also technically be termed a Cyber Cafes. ( quote referred by: Adv Na.Vijayashankar on Cyberlaw-india@yahoogroups.com, news forum ) All the participants as defined as Facilitator as explained above may be brought under Section 79 for Exemption from liability of "intermediary" ( facilitator ) in certain cases. Sir , Further we wish to draw your attention : Whilst Computers & Internet revolution mushroomed by, the developers kept in mind an individual consumer’s need. The shared access concept that at best fits countries like ours with scarce resources were never kept in mind . The dominant players in the IT industry are now waking up to the need of a shared Public access version to a personal computer desktop. Cyber Cafes too play a role of facilitation: They offer the tools to the people who do not have access to the ICT tool for self-determination. A cyber café at just Rs 20/- an hour makes power of computer accessible for those who cannot afford to invest Rs 30000/-. At the click of the mouse button, the cyber café’s customer votes to visit the site of his choice. It is very much beyond the control of the café manager, as in the same way as the control of the Postmaster to scan every mail or the Telephone Company to check every conversation transmitted through the network. or a newspaper to track the veracity of every advertisement paid for publishing in advance. Today in India there are nearly as many cyber cafes as the number of post offices. The note worthy point is their sheer number & volume of transaction and the ticket value of the transaction. While accountability and trace ability is critical for the development of the Digital Society but unfortunately a feasible & viable technical solution is not yet visible. The Regulation should certainly look into this transition environment of a cyber society. Further it is important for the success of the ICT environment to be ubiquitous to realize its full potential but at the same time. The essential ICT tools as Desktop Computers , software, connectivity have not been notified as Essential goods, nor are their pricing can be insured as reasonable and within reach of every one. Fro example in India , A cost of essential software as Microsoft Windows And Office cost over 14 months per capita Income in India. The proposed revision under section 87, seeks to empower the Central Government to make rules, We seek the honourable members be reminded to see that in this transient environment where tools are yet being developed and tested and as well as the cost yet to be within a common Indian’s reach, do not thrust as many regulations as to make their business unviable. It is only due to the enterprise of the several young people of India that ICT tools have reached to them. every care and opportunity should be taken to nurture this young enterprise and let every citizen can reap the benefit of Information communication tools for development and progress. Respectfully Ashish Saboo President The Association of Public Internet Access Provider A self Help group for entrepreneurs operating Shared Internet Access in Public places URL: http://www.apiap.cybernook.net Blog: http://apiap.blogspot.com , http://internetcafenews.blogspot.com/ Email : apiap@rediffmail.com

Summary of a survey conducted on Mumbai Cyber cafes

2005-09-13T08:51:00.000+05:30

ApiAp conducted a sample survey on Cyber Cafes in Mumbai. A random 40 cafes in Mumbai - South, Western Suburbs, & Central suburbs participated in the survey. The primary data collection and survey was done by Mr Anshu Shukla & Shrish Kumar Tiwari , students of the Indian Institute of Information Technology ( IIIT) Allahabad, India, The cyber café owners surveyed most of them offered Internet access, print & scan service.

77% of 40 respondents 's cafe existence is less than 3 years
92.5% claimed they are some what satisfied with business
80% of cafe own 6 to 10 terminals
Most have invested less than Rs 200 thousand
97% of cafes operate from rented premises
Almost all access Internet through cable internet (ADSL connection or extended LAN networks using cat5 cables)
Median rate for Internet access fee is Rs 15/- per hour ( USD 0.34 )
Median traffic ranges from 34 - 40 visitors a day

This converts into a probable Gross collection of just Rs 350 to 600 a day (USD 8-14)

Most cafes offer a significant discount to regular customers
While 82% concurred to be their significant source of earning but at the same time 78% claimed other sources of earning too, popular options are PCO, DTP, Training etc
55% claimed they know most of the customers, 30% claimed they know some of them & only 15% knew none of their customer.
When asked to rank the significant problems faced in operating the business: The number one problem was attributed to Business competition followed by Regulation problem, Hardware maintenance & last managing customers.
Only 43% & 39% of respondents knew the concept of Hacking & Piracy. 65% felt that their cafe can be misused but none could explain how.
95% of those surveyed claim to maintain a register of visitors for sake of business accounting, 15% even ask for proof of identity.

Conclusion:

The Cyber café operations are not sustainable; most of the operators are early entrepreneurs. Although many claimed to be satisfied by the opportunity but then a significant 77% of the owners are in the business for less than 3 years, It is worthy to note the industry is over 8 years old. & The café business as hand in hand with the Internet rage had peeked in year 2000 with the burst of Dot COM bubble. Perhaps many have not factored the long-term capital cost recovery in the relative high operating cash flow thus look attractive.
The low investment requirement added to low entry barrier & low skill base makes an ideal opportunity for micro entrepreneurs to start a venture. Subsequently Cyber café do not seem to be the main stay of the operator’s livelihood. Net earnings seem just about a bit higher than a salaried job for the same skill set.
Most of the visitors frequent the same cafes & operators too are acquainted to them. Further for sake of business accounting most do maintain a rudimentary cross check systems. Thus detection of cyber crime under cover of anonymity offered by cyber café is not very non comprehendible
But inferring from their responses on possibility of misuse of cafes, it seems most of them have a hazy understanding on Cyber security issues. It may be possible the café owners can be made gullible into abetting the crime. The whole scale policing of cyber café have proved an ineffective solution but a little support and nurturing of these micro entrepreneur community by way of awareness and recognition can certainly make cyber crime in the cover of anonymity manageable. Thank you Anshu & Shirish & your other guides , Cyber Cafe operators owe you a lot ! We look forward more researchers like you & Anikar Haseloff take interest in this omni present yet anonymous participants in the ICT4D.

At last , someone to integrate the Telecentre Models

2005-08-24T13:05:00.000+05:30

I am excited to know about IDRC's fantastic initiative in bringing together all the Telecentre variants. The proposed web site telecentre.org will be the platform to share ideas and experiments done by various countries . like Ugabytes in Uganda, capetowntelecentre in South Africa, & mission 2007 in India & hopefully the the commercial telecentres or Internet Cafes , what claire beautifully describes as "Demand Driven" telecentre too will find a place. Telecentre.org is a collaborative initiative of IDRC and the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program. To know more about Telecentre.org , visit http://www.idrc.ca/supportnet/ We wish Mark Surman & his team all the success

John's Dilemma

2005-07-01T11:37:00.000+05:30

Just came across this comment on Business World's web site, a comment on the Wipro' Specramind story. For John owning a computer is a dream but mastering it while working at the Cyber cafe came easy. Unfortunately the Cafe owner is moving out of the business & so should John . John's story is no different from many people who aspire to make it into the Information Technology but would have never been able to afford buy one. Businessworld - STAY AHEAD EVERY WEEK KIND ATTN : Neeraj-Bhargava¸ CEO Jaswinder Ghumman¸ country head Raman Roy This is John Mathew from Dombivli¸ Thane (West) Sir¸ Presently i am working for a Cyber Cafe¸ I have a good knowledge of Technical Support on web and chat¸ Where in Wipro same is required for Back office¸ in Belapur. End of this month¸ My boss is going to close the cyber cafe¸ I am very much upset and in tense what i’ll do after the cafe is closed. And i am th only one whe earns in my family to provied bread and butter for my family. I am a handicapped guy¸ so sir please help me to get job in your company¸ I will be very much thankful to you and I assure you the I’ll do my best of my knowledge and i’ll give all my efforts and knowledge whatever i have gained from cyber cafe to satisfy my seniors. I assure you i’ll do the best. Thanks and Regards John Mathew.

Sitapur, UP state's DM unique partnership with Cyber Cafes for spreading E-governance

2005-06-23T13:47:00.000+05:30

Shri Amod Kumar, DM of Sitapur, UP has initiated a smart public private partnership with the launch of "Lokvani" A E-governance software. Its been issued to Cyber Cafes in the area . Lets look forward we hear more such initiatives. Sitapur's Lokvani to make an echo - The Times of India LUCKNOW: Lokvani - the e-governance system indigenously developed and launched in Sitapur by a team of officers last year, blazes a trail in information technology sector as UP government decides to officially adopt the software and implement it across the state by August 15, 2005. A circular issued by the industrial development commissioner Atul Kumar Gupta to all district magistrates and commissioners along with all principal secretaries and secretaries makes the use of software mandatory in order to ensure an effective transparent and accountable online public redressal system specially for the rural sector in UP. The software, the GO passed on June 16 says, shall be used for online registration, follow up and disposal of public grievances apart from providing latest update on the progress of applications for firearm licences or general law and order complaints. The common man can also, at a minimal cost, have access to the list of all development projects under way in a district, details of land and revenue records and even procure online income/ caste/ domicile/ birth or death certificates and driving licence. Priced at Rs 75,000, the software can be bought from Sitapur and all district magistrates are expected to raise their resources at the district level. A brainchild of Amod Kumar, DM, Sitapur, Lokvani has been inspired by similar attempts made by MP and Rajasthan governments in Dhar and Jhalwara. Kumar, who is an IIT alumni, and his team studied, analysed and assessed the projects and developed a package which suited the local needs and aspiration. The best part of the software, says Kumar is that unlike the other two models it does not depend on government’s freebies. The modus operandi, he explained, entails “training and giving licences to operate, to select local cyber cafe owners who would charge for putting complaints on the Lokvani website. The website is linked with the central computer at the collectorate’s National Informatics Centre (NIC) that will be monitored personally by the DM and updated by his staff. The complainant thus can monitor the progress of his complaint. Kumar had demonstrated the software at the senior administrative officers’ conference held on March 4 in presence of chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. Following a keen interest shown by the CM, the project was immediately referred to the IT department for a feasibility check.

First case against cyber cafe booked under the Bagalore draconian rule

2005-06-13T16:55:00.000+05:30

Its the worst day for the small cyber cafe operators, Bangalore . Unfortunately we are widely dispersed and too small to gather & stage a protest and create awareness. In days to come Bangalore cyber cell has a tough job to handle, but the 3000 cyber cafes cannot be unpaid accomplice in policing the city . At ApiAp we shall try our best to voice our protest to this unjust regulation. First case against cyber cafe booked BANGALORE, Staff Reporter , The Hindu The State Government has made it mandatory for cyber cafes to maintain a record of Internet users The Cyber Crime police have booked the first case against a cyber cafe here for not following the notification making maintenance of the record of Internet users mandatory. The case was booked against Paradise Cyber Cafe in Basaveshwara Nagar on June 7. The Cyber Crime police have submitted a report to the Information Technology Secretary, K.N. Shankarlinge Gowda, for taking further action against the cyber cafe owner. The State Government, with an intention to prevent misuse of Internet by criminals, issued a notification in August 2004 making it mandatory for cyber cafes to maintain a record of Internet users. Failure to maintain the record, the notification said, would result in impounding their licences. The notification, the first of the kind to be issued in the country, prescribed the need for a surfer to display his identity card at the cyber parlour or be photographed by a web camera by the attendant, before he logs on to the Internet. According to the Cyber Crime police not many Internet parlours in the city are following the directions, despite copies of the notification being served to them. This led them to start the process of booking cases against Internet parlours, a senior Cyber Crime police official said. Â© Copyright 2000 - 2005 The Hindu

Cybercafe goes cold in the West

2005-06-11T16:18:00.000+05:30

VIKRAM DOCTOR TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2004 01:29:59 AM] In now The 10th anniversary of a globally transforming technological innovation should have been widely noted and celebrated. Yet 10 years on from when Eva Pascoe, a Polish PhD student studying in London opened Cafe Cyberia, the world’s first cybercafe , there’s been little to mark the occasion. Yahoo! which understandably has benefited from the phenomenon launched its first Yahoo! Mail Internet Cafe Awards, choosing from the over 20,000 cybercafes it estimates are now operational in over 171 countries, to give out awards for the Most Remote Cybercafe (Cafe Polyvalent in Timbuktu, Mali) or Most Stylish (Phlegmatic Dog in Moscow). But that was about as far as formal recognition of the anniversary and where it did attract media comment, it was mostly to note how passé the cybercafe concept now seemed. In a rather patronising leader entitled ‘Ye Olde Internet Cafe’, the Daily Telegraph noted that when they were first started they were frequented by the coolest trendsetters but today were mainly for “gap-year students, far from home, or the urban poor.” It concluded: “the internet cafe is already on its way into the footnotes of history. Many will find it remarkable that the first one opened only 10 years ago. But few will be surprised when the last one shuts.” Well, maybe the writer of that leader should come to India. “There are over 50,000 cybercafes in India,” says David Appasamy, chief communications manager at Satyam Infoway which in just three years has set up a chain of over 2,000 cybercafes across 67 cities. “We’re opening at the rate of three cybercafes a day.” The company estimates it gets over half a million users a month and that’s growing at a 25% rate. Now are these all English speaking elite. “Its aspirational. Everyone wants to move ahead and computers are seen as the means,” says Appasamy. And since most people can’t afford their own computers, they go to the cybercafe. Nor will falling computer prices change this, as it did in the West. No matter how low prices fall, they will always be too costly for most Indian families. Amitabh Singhal, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of India points out that compared to the West, Internet access is relatively expensive in India, so going to a cybercafe where the cost is spread among many users makes economic sense. Home usage is also inconvenient. “Using the Internet over the dial-up connections that most people have at home is very slow and annoying,” he says. “Especially with the sort of data-rich content that most websites have these days it can take forever to download.” Surfing the Net today really does need broadband, and for most people the only way to get it is through their friendly neighbourhood cybercafe. In a larger sense too, cybercafes fit into a very Indian approach to technology. This is the country, after all, where cable operators receive satellite TV to dish out to their subscribers and most people access long distance telephony from STD/ISD booth. Many of which, in fact, simply added on a couple of computers to become the first cybercafes. Most technology in India ends up getting distributed through intermediaries, and cybercafes are just the latest form. And what truly Indian ways we’re finding to use all this! “Families arranging marriages use video conferencing at Infoways to interview prospective candidates in other cities!” says Appasamy. Other common usages include salesmen in remote locations filing their reports with HO, senior citizens calling their children abroad using Net telephony, students sending college applications and even sitting for their entrance tests, HR professionals getting CVs of potential employees and stock traders accessing the markets, people maintaining their personal websites - in addition, of course, to the email, chat and computer gaming. It’s not just Indians who have come to depend on cybercafes. For tourists, particularly the backpacking gap-year students noted by The Telegraph, they have become vital technology. Tom Hall, senior web producer at Lonely Planet, the backpacker’s bible, says that they use them for much more than just email. “There are also online trip journals, such as the MyTripJournal feature on LonelyPlanet.com which help travellers relate their experiences to everyone at home by posting writing and photos online,” he tells us. “Travellers are also using the internet to get information on destinations, such as our WorldGuide section, and the ThornTree travel forum, which is often used by travellers on the road to get advice and find travel partners. Also, travellers use the internet to book a hostel at the next destination.” Most of this is true across the developing world, which suggests that there’s a long future to the cybercafe’s role as a gateway to technology. When countries open up, a cybercafe is often among the first businesses to be established. Iran got its first cybercafe as early as 1998, with separate sections for women and men. In 2000 Bhutan got its first cybercafe, just a year after it got TV. In 2002, just a year after the Taliban fell, Kabul got its first cybercafe, and today there are many. Even the world’s most repressed country, North Korea, got its first cybercafe in 2002, reportedly because its leader, Kim Jong-Il, is an avid surfer (unfortunately the initial rates were $100 per hour, which kept most North Koreans away). This openness has often sparked alarm with governments and cybercafes commonly find themselves caught in the backlash, with threats of closure or heavy penalties for allowing access to porn or different political views. In India states have followed different policies, with some like Maharashtra occasionally threatening to crack down on cybercafes. Lonely Planet’s Hall says that, in common with most tech specialists, he believes that cybercafe usage will eventually fall, because of home and work connections and, even more, due to wireless and cellphone technologies. “That being said, I think this will take quite a while to occur,” he says. “We’re different from the West. I think we will be using the cybercafe for quite some time to come,” says Singhal. As proof perhaps of how firm the future of the cybercafe outside the West is, consider what’s happened to the first one of them all. After expanding into a chain, Eva Pascoe sold the business to South Korean investors, who renamed it ‘Be The Reds’ after the cheer used by supporters of the South Korean national football team. That first outlet is still running and is mainly used by the Korean student community in London.

Exam Results season on its way

2005-05-23T18:33:00.000+05:30

Exam Results still remain the most popular purpose for visiting the Cyber Cafes. This season I found many innovative promotions and business opportunity . Some cafes have offered an additional service to offer print outs of the exam results & charge a cool Rs 25/- . Given the high anxiety level many customers are ready takers ! Lets hope the nic web sites don't disappoint us . Best of Luck !! Cyber-cafes gear up for another manic Monday Students can get their results online from: www.results.nic.in www.cbseresults.nic.in www.cbse.nic.in Abantika Ghosh, Indian Express, New Delhi, May 21,2005: While students and parents have started steeling themselves for what Monday may hold, cyber cafes are getting ready to cope with the rush that has become a regular feature ever since the CBSE Class XII results started coming up online five years ago. And despite an announcement from CBSE that the result will be available only after 8 am on Monday, most cyber-cafes owners hope a last-minute announcement from the council will advance the timing to midnight on Sunday. While preparing for an all-night haul, some are even taking extra precautions like installing special anti-virus software. Says Himanshu, owner of Riviera Cyber cafe, ‘‘Earlier, before Internet connections became so widely available, there would be advance bookings. But over the last few years, the rush has gone down. Still, there are long queues throughout the night and this kind of extra business is too good to be missed just for a night’s sleep.’’ Meanwhile, helplines are already abuzz with calls from students and parents. Requests range from the innocuous ‘what if the results do not come out in time?’ to ‘here’s my roll number, why can’t you get my results through your contacts’ to the desperate ‘I am feeling suicidal, can’t you get them to increase my score.’ Barely 24 hours after its helplines opened, Snehi, a NGO, has received some 400 calls relating to the results. At Sumaitri, another such helpline, the number of daily student callers, excluding parents, has doubled from the usual 1-2 per day.

Small Town cyber Cafe operator helps man find home

2005-05-07T13:44:00.000+05:30

MADAN WAS FOUND WANDERING AT KHANNA AND GIVEN SHELTER BY MIGRANTS Cyber cafe owner helps man find home Somesh Batta , Indian Express . Khanna, April 19, 2005: A mentally ill person missing from New Delhi who had reached Khanna ( A small town on the outskirts of New delhi) was united with his family with the help of the Internet. Pawan Dhir, the owner of a cyber cafe in the township helped 45-year-old Madan Lal Maddi by searching for his house on the Net. He then informed his family members, who took him to New Delhi on Sunday. Madan Lal had been missing since March 29. Dhir told Newsline that some rehri owners came to him on Sunday morning. They told me that some migrant labourers had found this man wandering about on March 30, and had provided him with food and shelter since. Madan Lal's residential address was inscribed on his arm with his phone number. But when I called up on that number, a woman said no member of their family was missing. Then I searched the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) website to locate any phone number on said address, but was unsuccessful. Dhir, however, did not give up his quest to help the poor man. He searched the Delhi police website and found Mohan Garden, the place given on Madan's arm, located in Uttam Nagar police station. I was disappointed by the attitude of the munshi at the police station, who was no help and told me to bring Madan back to Delhi myself. Dhir said again searched the MTNL website and found the telephone number of the address given on Madan's arm. All this while, Madan Lal only talked about about Ludhiana and Rakesh. I later found that Rakesh Sabharwal, his brother, is an assistant manager in State Bank of Patiala at Gurgaon. He reached here and lovingly took back his brother,said Dhir. The family was highly helpful to him for helping them locate Madan Lal. In stark contrast I recently read a very sad news report in Times of India about a Metropolitian Mumbai's resident. The girl was missing for over a month, Her family members kept on hunting for her followed all the trails without success. The local Police station too was trying to do to best of their abilities but failed, finally after a month long efforts the family approached the CID branch just a few kilometers away & they cracked the case within no time. The girl had died in a train accident The police traced the victim through her last mobile call and the area railway police station were able to match the details. Unfortunately the family came to know about the whereabouts after she was cremated.Open access to information and coordination of various agencies and ofcourse a good Samaritan like Pawan Dhir could have saved the family from all the agony. I am sure there are many more Internet Cafe operators like Pawan Dhir amongst us who can make a difference.

Pakistan's Fast Bowler Mohammad Khalil learns his tricks from a Cyber Cafe

2005-03-06T12:11:00.000+05:30

An interesting story reported on Rediff.com , illustrating the power of Internet & it is our will & initiative how do we use it : Pakistan's 22-year-old fast bowler Mohammad Khalil says he has "studied" Sachin Tendulkar's batting and discovered a weakness against left-arm bowlers which he would try to exploit in the upcoming Test and one-day series. Being a left-arm bowler himself, Khalil has drawn attention from all quarters. The media, in its usual hype, has even drawn parallels with the legendary Wasim Akram. Khalil, however, has been humble enough to brush aside such comparisons. But he is keen to get at India's greatest batsman, whom Akram failed to have a measure of in his illustrious career. "Yes, I have studied him (Tendulkar). More than me, my younger brother Akheel Mohammad," said Khalil. Akheel runs an internet cafe in Lahore and, Khalil said, the two had spent enough time surfing the websites to gather bits and pieces of information about Tendulkar, for whom the ball delivered from around the wicket at his ribcage or thigh pad had been the bane on more than one occasion. Left-arm spinners Ashley Giles of England and Ray Price of Zimbabwe, besides Pedro Collins of the West Indies, have successfully used the leg-theory to pin Tendulkar. "We have studied every aspect carefully and if I get to play, I will use it in the match," Khalil said.

Cops trip on cafe raids

2005-02-01T11:02:00.000+05:30

Cops trip on cafe raids Cops trip on cafe raids - Indian Express UP police haul up 25 youngsters in raids, charge them with obscenity, photograph them... attract charges of harassment AMAN SHARMA LUCKNOW, JANUARY 31 In a typically half-baked operation that showed no lessons had been learnt from similar raids in the past, Lucknow Police were left offering explanations today over their raids on two cyber cafes in Krishna Nagar area in which 25 youngsters, including 10 girls, were hauled up on obscenity charges. The youngsters were mostly from well-to-do families and as their parents landed up at the station demanding an explanation, police were forced to release them by 9 tonight. Most claimed they had been filing resumes or checking their mails when they were apprehended and their photos taken. Under fire over BSP legislator Raju Pal’s murder, the state police hardly needs a scandal of the kind that followed the Aligarh and Agra cyber cafe raids, which had drawn allegations of harassment from arrested youngsters and the NHRC’s attention. Incidentally, today too the media was called in to record the raids despite objections being raised the last time over the way photos of the youths had been displayed all over newspapers and TV. Today’s raids began around 2.45 pm, led by Circle Officer, Alambagh, Shachi Ghildiyal, an IPS officer under training. Ghildiyal says police received complaints from residents of the LDA Colony in Krishna Nagar of ‘‘immoral activities being carried on in internet cafe in the colony’’. ‘‘We sent some of our men to pose as customers and found the information correct. We conducted a raid at Lucknow Internet Cafe and found the adjoining Yash Internet Cafe was also indulging in the same. For Rs 10 per hour, they had virtually given an open licence to sex to these couples inside the cabins,’’ alleged Ghildiyal. The FIR accuses the youths of watching porn websites and sitting in objectionable positions inside the cabins. The owners of the two cafes were arrested and 16 computers were seized. Denying allegations of harassment, Ghildiyal said: ‘‘Besides watching porn websites, couples also had sex inside the small cabins of these cafes. The cabins have high walls and can be bolted from inside. Also the entire first floor of these cafes was only meant for couples, with single girls or boys not allowed there. We found condoms strewn all over an empty plot near the cafes.’’ Ghildiyal admitted that they had ascertained that at least one girl was just typing in her resume, but added the rest of the raid was genuine and that those raising a hue and cry were the same couples who had been found in objectionable positions . ‘‘We called their parents and so they are levelling harassment charges out of embarrassment,’’ she said. ‘‘I was typing my resume, which I had to submit to Lucknow Public School, when police walked in and said I was watching porn. They called up the media, who clicked our photos as if we were criminals. No policeman listened to our pleas,’’ said one of the girls. One of the girls said police made two boys stand outside the cabin in which she was working and the media took photographs. ‘‘It was so humiliating. The policemen had no clue as to what Internet is,’’ she cried.

Two lakh fine for Net cafe porn- The Times of India

2005-01-29T13:12:00.000+05:30

Two lakh fine for Net cafe porn- The Times of India LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has banned surfing of pornographic websites at cyber cafes. Offenders will face heavy fines and jail. Uttar Pradesh IT Minister Veerendra Singh said that cyber cafes would have to install equipment that prevents logging on to any adult site. "There should be a master video-display to monitor all computers by the cyber cafe owner," Singh told IANS. All district magistrates and superintendents of police have been informed of the ban and asked to conduct surprise raids. Offenders can be fined up to Rs 2,00,000 and jailed for 10 years. First-time violators face a fine of up to Rs 1,00,000 and imprisonment for five years. District officials have been asked to maintain a dossier of all cyber cafes. Earlier, the government had ordered that cabins and partitions in cyber cafes be pulled down for stricter scrutiny.

will ipod bring a new lease of life to Internet cafes world wide ?

2005-01-22T11:34:00.000+05:30

iPod has been creating a lot of excitment amongst geeks & topped the chrishmas gifts wish list . ipod can store musics, photos & can be Used as a portable hard drive — take your files with you. In another story by Andrew Orlowski from San Francisco in the register shares his views : A friend who recently got a laptop computer views it a little differently: "If I'm staying overnight all I used to need was a phone, a toothbrush and an iPod. Now you need the notebook, the charger, cables for the iPod, a Bluetooth dongle. "Real mobility is an internet cafe on every street corner, like in Asia. Then you don't need to bring anything." Wonder if iPod may bring in a new business opportunity to thousands of Internet Cafes world wide ?

DIT to set up info centres in rural areas - The Economic Times

2005-01-05T17:04:00.000+05:30

2005! will hopefully ring many opportunities for the cyber Cafes ! The department of information technology (DIT) is evolving policy guidelines and a framework to establish ICT-enabled information and service kiosks in villages. These integrated ‘common service centres’ (CSCs) envisaged by the National E-Governance Action Plan would be built on a public-private partnership model. through which they propose to offer a slew of services on a commercial basis. The opportunity will be a boon for cyber cafe operators. DIT to set up info centres in rural areas - The Economic Times

Hyderabad Cyber crime cell goes the Bangalore ways

2005-01-03T11:14:00.000+05:30

Cops to insist on web cameras at Net cafes- The Times of India With a piffling 18 cases they want to hold 1000 Cyber cafes as a security guard.

2004-11-09T13:35:00.000+05:30

The approach of regulating Cyber cafe is just not restricted to Maharastra or Karnataka but also at Ahmedabad (http://www.123bharath.com/index.php?action=fullnews&id=22233 )kolkata & Hyderabad. We at ApiAp belive the proposed regulations will have a multiple repurcussions: ENFORCEMENT PROBLEM: To any industry, governance/ regulations show sign of maturity & brings legitimacy but unfortunately the proposed law will be weak in enforcement & further it will be prone to be misused . ( http://apiap.blogspot.com/2004/08/fake-police-raids.html ) Our members are worried of increased the police harassment or private agencies who claim to represent the local police, anti piracy cell etc. Many would opt to go underground (As convert into a sham Computer training institute etc) this will actually increase the nascent Cyber crime cell ' burden. Communist China has been trying with such regulations since year 2000 & has not yet achieved much success ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/01/china_net_crackdown/ ) , how can democratic India achieve it? PRIVACY: The proposed law makes the Cyber cafe operator responsible in managing the visitor’s database. The average age of a cafe operator is less than 22 years. Can we depend on the young Cyber cafe operator capability to safe guard the data from being misused/stolen? Or unknowingly become a breeding ground for cyber stalkers. SUSTAINABILITY: The Internet cafe industry has be a boon to the customer & the entrepreneur in many third world countries where basic education or electricity is not available; Cyber cafes have been a boon for entrepreneur to get to know opportunities in Info tech offers them to learn the trade while they earn & race straight into the Information super highway - Given the low entry/exit barrier to the industry. & Intense competition. The access rate is just Rs 10 to 20/- per hour that barely covers expenses. Today a small operator earns less than a cushy job in a call center; the average mortality is less than 3 years. They eventually migrate to better opportunities as in vending computer hardware, data processing, programming etc. & a new breed of entreprenuer takes their place. With the proposed regulations, how many micro entrepreneurs will dare to venture in such a business? Who bears the brunt ? The brunt of such regulations will be borne by masses that are waiting to embrace the digital world. ITU puts Internet penetration at 1.59 %in India. How will the rest of the 98.41% get an opportunity to acquaint the power of the WWW ? Today our scare resources are competing between better education / drinking water / health & other issues, Can we expect each of them invest 14 months gross income to buy a personal computer ( cost of computer to per capita income of India, yr 2002 estimate )? In all we appeal don't burn the bridge that is aiding to close the Digital Divide.

To Get Online, Most Indians Go to Cyber Cafes

2004-10-09T17:29:00.000+05:30

Anjana Pasricha, August 15, 2004 — VOA News Service

NEW DELHI — In India, cyber cafes are steadily gaining in popularity because few people own computers and Internet access is expensive. Internet usage in India remains limited even though the country is known as an information technology hub.

Nineteen-year-old Jaskaran Lamba heads straight for a cyber cafe every afternoon after his classes at a New Delhi college are finished. For several hours, he logs on to the net, searching for material for his college projects, checking his e-mail and chatting with friends.

He is among the thousands of Indians who flock daily to the cyber cafes that are sprouting up in crowded markets, shopping malls and rail stations. Cyber cafes offer computers with Internet access to anyone who pays a fee.

Nearly two-thirds of the 12 million Internet users in India frequent cyber cafes, according to industry estimates, and in the last two years, the number of establishments has doubled to 50,000 to meet the demand.

Industry experts say the business is likely to thrive. Less than one percent of Indians own computers. And like Jaskaran Lamba, even those do who do often prefer to use cyber cafes to avoid the high cost of Internet access at home.

Amitabh Singhal, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of India, says most private Internet users in India rely on expensive dial-up connections costing nearly 60 cents an hour. Cyber cafes, on the other hand, run on high-speed broadband connections, cutting the cost by nearly half.

"Cyber cafes have been a successful model," he said. "We see a quality of service which is better than the dial-up, [and] the prices are also very reasonable, so a lot of people find that a better option."

Mr. Singhal says the government wants to widen access to the Internet and aims to increase the number of subscribers to 40 million in five years' time. It hopes to do so by reducing tariffs to make high-speed broadband access more affordable for ordinary Indians.

Even if that happens, cyber cafes are confident they will stay in business. Industry experts say computers will remain out of reach for most of India's one billion people for years to come, so cyber cafes will continue to be the vehicle for taking the Internet to the masses.

That is why one of India's largest cyber-cafe chains, "iWay," is opening three new outlets a day, branching out from big cities to smaller towns.

Cafe controls in India's tech hub

2004-10-08T17:08:00.000+05:30

Correspondents in Bangalore

INDIA'S southern state of Karnataka, of which the technology hub of Bangalore is the capital, is to restrict the use of internet cafes to fight cyber crime and pornography.Proposed new laws will make it compulsory for those using cybercafes to carry a photo-identity card and enter their details on an address book to be kept at the counter.

If no identity card is available, customers will be photographed by a web camera at the cafe and their photographs will be stored in the computer for a year.

"The main aim is to prevent the misuse of cybercafes," said M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda, secretary in the state's Information Technology and Biotechnology department. "It is meant to fight cyber crimes and pornography."

The law would be passed very soon, Mr Gowda said. "A bit of regulation is necessary and we do not want freedom to be misused."

Industry pundits, IT bodies and users, however, slammed the planned legislation, arguing it was an infringement of individual rights and will deal a severe blow to the industry which has been fighting to bring internet access to the poor.

India's premier IT body, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), said the move would not help tackle the problem of security or pornography.

"It is not a good idea at all," said NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik. "We understand that there are security compulsions but this step will not be useful or good to tackle it as the system can still be abused either by the cafe owner or by customers."

Mr Karnik said a majority of the internet users in India used cybercafes as they could not afford to buy a computer.

"I do not think checking and registration of subscribers is a good idea. It also infringes on individual freedom," Mr Karnik said.

"This move will kill (cybercafe) business. In India internet access is a problem. The rich own personal computers while the poor cannot even afford to use it," he said.

According to NASSCOM, there were an estimated 13 million internet users in India last year. The base grew from less than a million subscribers in 1998.

Ashish Saboo, president of the Association of Public Internet Access Providers, a body of cybercafe owners, said the government step would hit the industry hard.

"Operating a cybercafe is no longer a lucrative business," Mr Saboo said. "When these regulations come into effect, I wonder how many will still risk operating?"

Cybercafes revenue was on the decline even though "about 30 per cent" of India's total internet users depend on them, Mr Saboo said.

Over the couple of years fierce competition has cut the cost of accessing the internet at cybercafes to as little as 15 rupees (45c) an hour.

Agence France-Presse

Ahmedabad & Bangalore's Cyber Crime cell on outsourcing mode !

2004-10-05T15:40:00.000+05:30

The Police force of the world's largest democratic country is on an outsourcing mode! At least this is what I conclude reading the rules being passed by the Ahmedabad & Bangalore police's nascent Cyber crime cell. Some significant measures announced are :

If you are not carrying a photo-ID card, you will have to get your photograph taken by webcam in the cafe and enter your details on the computer and your photograph will be stored in the computer for a period of one year.

Ahmedabad city police goes a step further :

Apart from these instructions, the directive also stipulates that cyber cafes will not be allowed to function near educational institutions, hospitals and places of worship.

I think the honorable office of the Cyber Crime investigations considers only criminals visit Cyber Cafe or all those who access Internet in public domain as suspicious . Until now the police department used to keep records and photographs of only people booked for offence. Now in this billion people nation setting up a database of each of us is a task which the police is confident only the "till now" ubiquitous Cyber cafes can execute. I think it is a great recognition of our strength and spread, considering the previous two national agencies viz the Election Commission with the Voters photo ID card and the Income Tax Authority with the Permanent account number PAN scheme are still struggling to set their records updated even after a decade! So how can a small commercial telecentre achieve it ? This action will also bring India in the club of worlds most Autocratic countries namely: China, Cuba & Vietnam to maintain such strict vigil. The city of London too is host to numerous cyber cafes but none have faced such severe restrictions and none of the developed countries have framed such laws then I wonder why Indian city regulators are planning such laws . Exactly a year ago the Mumbai police too had proposed similar regulations. Thankfully the authorities were considerate enough to understand the cyber cafe problems and offered to defer such laws. Operating a cyber cafe is no more a lucrative business . With earning significantly less than the one can expect a salary from a call centre job . With effect of such regulations I wonder, how many will still take a risk to operate in this business . Already the commercial cyber cafes are declining. Further Will people wile l be comfortable visiting a Cyber Cafes, where all your data, activity are under scrutiny . How can the police or the poor cyber cafe operator safe guard this data from being misused ? How will the Cyber cafe manger convince the women in the veil to be photographed ? In India only 1.59 people per 100 have access to Internet, Commercial telecentres with their pay per use model are the best bet to increase Internet penetration significantly but unfortunately such draconian law will burn the bridge to digital divide.

Cybercafe goes cold in the West- The Economic Times

2004-09-13T13:07:00.000+05:30

Cybercafe goes cold in the West VIKRAM DOCTOR TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2004 01:29:59 AM] Surf 'N' Earn -Sign innow The 10th anniversary of a globally transforming technological innovation should have been widely noted and celebrated. Yet 10 years on from when Eva Pascoe, a Polish PhD student studying in London opened Cafe Cyberia, the world’s first cybercafe , there’s been little to mark the occasion. Yahoo! which understandably has benefited from the phenomenon launched its first Yahoo! Mail Internet Cafe Awards, choosing from the over 20,000 cybercafes it estimates are now operational in over 171 countries, to give out awards for the Most Remote Cybercafe (Cafe Polyvalent in Timbuktu, Mali) or Most Stylish (Phlegmatic Dog in Moscow). But that was about as far as formal recognition of the anniversary and where it did attract media comment, it was mostly to note how passé the cybercafe concept now seemed. In a rather patronising leader entitled ‘Ye Olde Internet Cafe’, the Daily Telegraph noted that when they were first started they were frequented by the coolest trendsetters but today were mainly for “gap-year students, far from home, or the urban poor.” It concluded: “the internet cafe is already on its way into the footnotes of history. Many will find it remarkable that the first one opened only 10 years ago. But few will be surprised when the last one shuts.” Well, maybe the writer of that leader should come to India. “There are over 50,000 cybercafes in India,” says David Appasamy, chief communications manager at Satyam Infoway which in just three years has set up a chain of over 2,000 cybercafes across 67 cities. “We’re opening at the rate of three cybercafes a day.” The company estimates it gets over half a million users a month and that’s growing at a 25% rate. Now are these all English speaking elite. “Its aspirational. Everyone wants to move ahead and computers are seen as the means,” says Appasamy. And since most people can’t afford their own computers, they go to the cybercafe. Nor will falling computer prices change this, as it did in the West. No matter how low prices fall, they will always be too costly for most Indian families. Amitabh Singhal, president of the Internet Service Providers Association of India points out that compared to the West, Internet access is relatively expensive in India, so going to a cybercafe where the cost is spread among many users makes economic sense. Home usage is also inconvenient. “Using the Internet over the dial-up connections that most people have at home is very slow and annoying,” he says. “Especially with the sort of data-rich content that most websites have these days it can take forever to download.” Surfing the Net today really does need broadband, and for most people the only way to get it is through their friendly neighbourhood cybercafe. In a larger sense too, cybercafes fit into a very Indian approach to technology. This is the country, after all, where cable operators receive satellite TV to dish out to their subscribers and most people access long distance telephony from STD/ISD booth. Many of which, in fact, simply added on a couple of computers to become the first cybercafes. Most technology in India ends up getting distributed through intermediaries, and cybercafes are just the latest form. And what truly Indian ways we’re finding to use all this! “Families arranging marriages use video conferencing at Infoways to interview prospective candidates in other cities!” says Appasamy. Other common usages include salesmen in remote locations filing their reports with HO, senior citizens calling their children abroad using Net telephony, students sending college applications and even sitting for their entrance tests, HR professionals getting CVs of potential employees and stock traders accessing the markets, people maintaining their personal websites - in addition, of course, to the email, chat and computer gaming. It’s not just Indians who have come to depend on cybercafes. For tourists, particularly the backpacking gap-year students noted by The Telegraph, they have become vital technology. Tom Hall, senior web producer at Lonely Planet, the backpacker’s bible, says that they use them for much more than just email. “There are also online trip journals, such as the MyTripJournal feature on LonelyPlanet.com which help travellers relate their experiences to everyone at home by posting writing and photos online,” he tells us. “Travellers are also using the internet to get information on destinations, such as our WorldGuide section, and the ThornTree travel forum, which is often used by travellers on the road to get advice and find travel partners. Also, travellers use the internet to book a hostel at the next destination.” Most of this is true across the developing world, which suggests that there’s a long future to the cybercafe’s role as a gateway to technology. When countries open up, a cybercafe is often among the first businesses to be established. Iran got its first cybercafe as early as 1998, with separate sections for women and men. In 2000 Bhutan got its first cybercafe, just a year after it got TV. In 2002, just a year after the Taliban fell, Kabul got its first cybercafe, and today there are many. Even the world’s most repressed country, North Korea, got its first cybercafe in 2002, reportedly because its leader, Kim Jong-Il, is an avid surfer (unfortunately the initial rates were $100 per hour, which kept most North Koreans away). This openness has often sparked alarm with governments and cybercafes commonly find themselves caught in the backlash, with threats of closure or heavy penalties for allowing access to porn or different political views. In India states have followed different policies, with some like Maharashtra occasionally threatening to crack down on cybercafes. Lonely Planet’s Hall says that, in common with most tech specialists, he believes that cybercafe usage will eventually fall, because of home and work connections and, even more, due to wireless and cellphone technologies. “That being said, I think this will take quite a while to occur,” he says. “We’re different from the West. I think we will be using the cybercafe for quite some time to come,” says Singhal. As proof perhaps of how firm the future of the cybercafe outside the West is, consider what’s happened to the first one of them all. After expanding into a chain, Eva Pascoe sold the business to South Korean investors, who renamed it ‘Be The Reds’ after the cheer used by supporters of the South Korean national football team. That first outlet is still running and is mainly used by the Korean student community in London.

The cybercafe business is resembling a graveyard for organised chains

2004-08-30T11:43:00.000+05:30

Businessworld - STAY AHEAD EVERY WEEK The cybercafe business is resembling a graveyard for organised chains. Bangalore-based Junction96 has downed shutters. Tata Nova is pulling out. DishnetDSL is closing outlets. Sify's iway, India's largest chain with 1,000 cafes, is yet to make profits. Paradoxically, the market is booming. Cybercafé revenues are seen doubling from Rs 250 crore now to Rs 500 crore in the next two years. IMRB pegs the number of cybercafes at 50,000 today, and this number is also doubling every two years. So far, it is the poky neighbourhood cafes that have seized the opportunity. Will any organised player crack this puzzle? If they do, it will probably be Sify. Its revenues grew to Rs 7.88 crore last quarter. Going by that, it could end this year with revenues over Rs 30 crore. Its billings of Rs 20-25 per hour are shared (70:30) between Sify and its franchisees. That's enough to let most franchisees break even in 24-30 months. The only one yet to make profits is Sify itself. But that is because in the last quarter it spent Rs 6.5 crore on the brand. It spent another Rs 7.3 crore sprucing up its back end. "It was a choice between maintaining cash profits and incurring an one-time marketing expense for the expanding cybercafe business," says CEO R. Ramaraj. It's this willingness to invest which works in Sify's favour. A late entrant, it came in with a nifty business model. Most cybercafes use a leased line/ISDN line for connectivity. More often than not, these are provided by BSNL/MTNL and suffer from severe bandwidth constraints. In contrast, Sify set up a wireless broadband network. Instead of using the BSNL/MTNL lines, its cafes access bandwidth via microwave receivers. Then, there is Sify's national IP backbone. Between the cafes, the ISP and the corporate network businesses, the network sweats more, resulting in faster return on investment. So iway's browsing costs have stayed as low as Rs 20-25 an hour. Then, it introduced a centralised billing system. All users get a unique identity and password, which locks them in and stops franchisees from underreporting revenues. It also lets them personalise their email and Web preferences. Today, 4 lakh registered users have already signed in. For iway, it is just a question of waiting for the profits.

ApiAp protests Banagalore law makers high handedness in regulating cyber cafes

2004-08-16T18:51:00.000+05:30

Its unfortunate but true, Banagalore Police has finally passed through the regulation (details: http://www.bangaloreit.com/html/cyber%20crime%20notification1.doc )Its unfortunate, Bangalore city, the Silicon Valley of the east is in the league of China & Cuba for their respect to privacy. The regulation expects all Cyber Cafe operators to record the details along with a photo identity of all the people who access Internet in public places. Those who do not carry a photo identity need to be immediately photographed by a web cam. All the details of visitors have to kept for at least a year! We feel sorry Banagalore Cyber cell officials have not realized the complete implication of the law & perhaps begin a new chapter in cyber stalking. The personal records data can be misused. Begin with we foresee Women will be amongst the first to desert the cafes, refer the report, where a cyber cafe operator chased a girl,Unfortunately for him, he got his lessons from the Girl's brother. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/294332.cms Now the Banagalore regulation offers a complete album -choose your target. It will be a delight for cyber stalkers ? How will a cafe owner ( age between 19 - 25 years )can safe guard this data from wrong intentions & as well maintain accuracy of the record ? Given over 60% of Banagalore netizens depend on Cyber Cafe for access, it will be like mapping the whole city population. The last such large attempts to maintain records were done by IT dept by issuing PAN number & election commission as voter id Card - its over 10 years & still struggling. The regulators do not realize the enormity of the exercise, what will be lost is the ubiquity in access to the net which is very important in developing the Digital society. Fortunately for us Banagalore cyber crime cell has 50 odd cases. This legislation is like a can of worms. The Bangalore regulators estimate 5000 cafes , some what a similar number of cobbler shop, or barber salon shop in Bangalore, Have they been licensed ? Can they be effectively be monitored. ? Countries who are more vulnerable of Cyber crimes, like London city which host as many cafe as Mumbai has & boasts the largest Internet cafes, do not insist on the recording the personal information of Internet surfer? Wonder what transpires and who inspires Indian regulators to do the impossible. We claim Regulation will bring legitimacy but unfortunately such regulations are a loose cannon ball, given the ambivalent cyber laws, many cafes operators from metro to small towns had to face harassments from the police or duped by the conman. It reminds us about the sad tale of the police harassment at Panickanadar Kudieuruppu a small village in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu in 2002http://www.rediff.com/search/2002/apr/22cyber.htm & the Conman posing as CBI officer held in Kolkata http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49968.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/50459.cms Cyber Cafe business in at the crossroad, it promises lot of opportunity & hope to many http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/633478.cms But still a mirage, we are waiting for more meaningful, trusted content till then we are left with the customers preying fingers to what he chooses rather thanwhat we can lead , Whom do we blame ? Few cyber cafe operators who are finding it hard to make a living will from the operations would prefer to move out than face harassments. The result of such regulations is loss not for the operators but for our all initiatives to bring in the Digital society or do we leave it , as a swan song for another ICT4D seminar in another 5 star hotel ? The loss is just not of the micro entrepreneur but its a bigger loss to all the people who have not yet been inducted to the world wide web.

Fake Police raids

2004-08-14T17:01:00.000+05:30

Off late I have been receiving a spate of emails/ calls /personal interactions complaining about Police raids on their cafes.

The common situation described is such raids are as follows :

Some people visit the cafe download music files / a recent movie clippings or some sexually explicit images. After downloading immediately these people tip off the so called Police and representatives of Indian Motion Pictures Association ( IMPA ), Anti piracy cell. The Police men orders for the shut down of the cafe and investigates all the computers . Of course in within no time they are able to locate the pirated files. The cafe owner is threatened with severe punishment starting with lodging of First Information Report ( FIR), lock ups etc ... They finally take away a signed confession on a blank piece of paper, in some cases confiscate the computers too. It is rumored in most cases the matter is settled with by meeting the demands and finally the FIR is never lodged or any court notices sent. Our inquiries have revealed most of these are fake raids and have not been authorized by the Police. It is a act of a few black sheep who very well understand the Cafe operators apprehensions. Most of the complainants have been seeking for a legal course. Unfortunately few have been able to corroborate their cases with any evidence for the obvious reasons. Further there can never be any legal course available to those who oblige to such hush money demands.

Why are we targeted ?

The Extortionist studies his prey carefully . They understand the Cyber cafe owner operates by himself, and makes sure has no support base in the vicinity . Those offering Large cabins for in the name of privacy are easy targets. Further thanks to stiff competition few cyber cafe operators in their own vicinity speak to each other thus never are able to share the commonly faced issues. Internet Cafes business are at the forefront of the cutting edge technology . New technology has been a challenges to social norms and old methods of business. so in the course of operations we as service providers have been caught in the bind. If you seek legal redressal then we have to follow the norms. Those who are deliberately promoting porn, selling pirated music are making it hard for all of us. While in certain issues there can be multiple interpretations. As explained by Cyber law practitioner Mr. Pawan Duggal in an article published in the Economic times. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/34093115.cms Thus in such cases, I feel the past conduct of the parties involved determines the course of legal action. you can take a few Precautionary measures as follow: # If you not done anything wrong than do not feel petrified by such threats. # Do not give away to prosecution threats. you are only making your case weaker. # Do not install unwanted software # clean the computer hardisk regularly for all such files which your customer may have downloaded # Keep the cafe environment open. # Build neighborhoods goodwill, finally you are amongst the special business who are able to make access of information affordable. # Speak the issues faced with other operators in the vicinity & seek each others support in countering such fake raids. And finally it is our collective responsibility to make others understand our contribution to the society and perhaps will lead to all of us in gaining more business opportunity and make our business sustainable.

Time flies ...

2004-08-13T19:42:00.000+05:30

Its been almost a year since The Association of Public Internet Access Provider was established.

The primary reason was to offer a voice to many struggling micro entrepreneurs in India in operating the community Internet Browsing center's or call it Cyber Cafes or Telecenters.

The nascent Industry which in the USA & Europe as seen as a mix of entertainment and technology had a completely different meaning for the less developed countries . Cyber Cafe sans the Coffee has been the most popular way of offering high cost of Internet access economically by way of a shared access on pay per usage basis.

The Beatles in their book " The Beatles in Rishikesh " shares their surprise of Internet Cafes

I also love the visual variety in India, as one occasionally drives around Brahma bulls as they wander or sit in the roadway, or the juxtaposition of ancient and new, as internet cyber-cafes nestle in beside ancient temples to the Gods. And while I stopped counting long ago....
At the peak of the dot com boom it was not surprising to locate as many Cyber cafes as the barber shop ! The inquisitive for technology may have waned but not the entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs in all the less developed countries have shared the same vision in making Internet ubiquitous. I have been able to get in contact with cyber Cafe owners in interiors of India , China, Philippines, Ethiopia, Indonesia and many more . Every where the story is same . The hopes of a catching a Innovative business opportunity : E-commerce et al but struggling to sustain the operation today & top it off with continuous regulatory pressures, Socially misunderstood. I have been receiving emails from numerous operators with almost the same sort of queries. I hope through this blog I shall try to communicate many of the commonly faced issues.
Wish me luck !

Did you say small town folks ?

2004-08-11T20:19:00.000+05:30

Net Indya , A Cyber Cafe in Himachal Pradesh Solan It was fun , acquainting with Internet Browsing center operators from across the world . The more memorable like Dhiraj from Solan, A small town in Himachal Pradesh, India . It is usually the tax authorities chase the people. Here Dhiraj chased the service tax authorities to know how to pay the service tax levied on the Cyber cafes ! . As Dhiraj shared with us . The Service tax Authorities were at a loss to know under what classification cyber cafes are and hence were unable to tax . Here is a lesson to me A common man is more conscientious to his duty . A lack of convenience in compliance forces many to avoid taxes. Hats off Dhiraj !! Praful of Kalingpong, West Bengal ; Prakash from Sagar Madhya Pradesh were some other interesting folks .