[UgaBYTES] Are n't Internet cafes becoming a threat to telecentres?
Yacine Khelladi
yacine at yacine.net
Thu Mar 19 12:00:48 GMT 2009
My 2 cents:
- since 2 years we run a telecentre in a rural municipality (southwast Dominican
rep/Caribbean) that has no cyber yet. why? because a cyber can't yet be
sustainable: not enough people are willing to pay, high costs of connectivity...
once the telecentre will have created the need and habit, and critical mass of
people will be willing to invest (pay) in accessing, then cyber will appear and
attract most youth (and additionally allow porno download and promote pc games),
then we will move from offering access to offering other things as strategic use
support, content development, capacity for ICT strategic use.
- we surveyed some 380 gov supported telecentre in 2007 in Dominican republic. we
found a very interesting correlation: when the more cyber centre are
close/around the telecentre, the more users telecentres have. So there is a
positive relation! or it means that there in places were is much more
need/demand and use, there is more business for all. Studies are in spanish
only: presentation style
http://taiguey.org/wp-content/uploads/20080811_presentacion-monografia-3.pdfand
full version
http://taiguey.org/cact-dom/docs/Monografia-sobre-los-CACs-en-RD-Version-Final-090908-1.pdf
PS: pls UGABYTES moderator, can you re-set the mailing list to insert [ugabytes]
in the subject line, it helps a lot! thanks
cheers
Yacine Khelladi
Coordinador Ejecutivo / Executive Coordinator
Fundación Taigüey: www.taiguey.org
Calle Duarte 35, La Ciénaga
Apartado Postal 106. 81000 Barahona
República Dominicana, Dominican Republic
FELICIAN NCHEYE wrote, On 19-Mar-09 6:40 AM:
> Dear Nassali,
>
> Thank you for your ideas. Generally what you are suggesting is revision
> of telecentre scope. Depending on the type of telecentre. If its
> services are limited to cafe level then it is likely to be threatened
> by a cafe. But for the multimedia telecentres it is not if the
> management fully utilizes resources and opportunities available.
>
> Actually, communities establishing cafes is a success for the relevant
> telecentre
> One element of the objectives of telecentres is to mobilize and enable
> growth of ICTs in the community it serves. So establishment of cafes is
> one of the milestones. When the community reaches this level, the
> telecentre has to be dynamic and aspire for higher levels of ICTs
> services including to serve the emerging cafes and the like.
>
> I find this to be telecentre practitioners perceptive. Telecentres need
> to be catalysits for ICTs development in the communities not
> competitors. They are supposed to be sources of information and
> knowledge centres for the community including entreprenuers. They have
> to cherish evolvemnt of ICT activities and for them to sustain think big.
>
> On the Internet uses, for example, vendors and the communities are not
> utilizing them effectively, this could be an area for a telecentre to
> develop programmes to this effect
>
> For Sengerema telecentre we are very proud for the cafes started here,
> because it the result of the knowledge the community gained from the
> telecentre. We started with a cafe at the telecentre, rightnow we are
> sharing internt with several institutions in the diistrict and planning
> to connect to Intenet rural areas, health centres and secondary schools
> , ahigher level capable of saving cafes, so we see cafes as meeting
> objectives of telecentre establisment, also a service centre for cafes.
>
> I suggest this to be a topic when EATLF meets and I will be able to
> present more cleally for the interest of the telecentre family.
>
> Ncheye
> Manager
> Sengerema Multipurpose Community Telecentre
> P.O.BOX.399 Sengerema-Mwanza Tanzania
> E-mail:ncheyefb at yahoo.com
> Cell:+255 784 799630
> Tel: +255 28 2590146
> Web: www.Sengerema.or.tz
>
> --- On *Wed, 3/18/09, Sarah mpagi /<sarah at ugabytes.org>/* wrote:
>
> From: Sarah mpagi <sarah at ugabytes.org>
> Subject: Re: Are n't Internet cafes becoming a threat to telecentres?
> To: "Sandra Nassali" <snassali at ugabytes.org>
> Cc: "ugabytes" <ugabytes at ugabytes.org>
> Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 6:58 AM
>
> This is a very good discussion... Indeed recently UgaBYTES conducted
> a research in Public Access Centres with the University of
> Washington, of which telecentres were included in the sample. Also
> we conducted an evaluation using GEM tools with APC WNSP whose
> report is underway.
>
> During the time of data collection in the evaluation process, our
> telecentre staff and managers in Buwama CMC and Kawolo telecentres
> revealed that; they faced a very stiff competition from the Cyber
> cafe's located in the same areas the telecentres operate.
>
> For instance, Buwama CMC has a cyber cafe' which is located right on
> the road side, which is the main road to Masaka, the Southern part
> of the country. The telecentre is just 500 metres from the main
> road. Buwama township has a significant number of residents and also
> involved in different types of businesses likewise, Kawolo
> telecentre is just a few 2kms from the most busiest and populated
> town in the area.
>
> What does this imply: The cyber cafe's offers similar services like
> the ones provided in the telecentre, they have reliable internet
> connectivity, and also all the services the telecentre provides.
> Their services though are slightly higher priced compared to the
> telecentre services and they have reliable staff who run the cafe's.
> To complicate the situation, the cyber cafe' operator at Buwama CMC
> was a telecentre manager in Buwama CMC, meaning that she is famous
> to the members of the community.
>
> In Buwama CMC, the telecentre manager and staff constantly remains
> idol with almost taking the radio as the convenient services to the
> community than the telecentre. At least many of the respondents
> revealed that they listened to the radio than going to the
> telecentre. When we visited the radio, it was evident that the
> community listened to the radio than the telecentre, this was
> according to the callers in the aired programs who even resided from
> as far as the coverage of the Sub County and beyond.
>
> Majority of the Buwama community members resort to the cafe than the
> telecentre. It was also revealed by some members of the community
> and other policy makers that the telecentre was so detached from the
> community, this implied that a lot of activities that are carried
> out in the telecentre are non of the business to the community. This
> was similar to what was at kawolo telecentre. Majority of the
> community members resort to Lugazi town for fast and reliable
> internet services and other ICTs that are less or not even provided
> by the telecentre to the community.
>
> For telecentres to remain relevant to the communities, they should
> strive to make changes in the communities they serve to prove their
> worth otherwise, I look at cyber cafes' a more threat to telecentres
> in the near future. Many telecentres are still struggling with
> management problems and accountability issues. It should be
> understood as well that also telecentres charge access fees to any
> service available, so communities will attach no meaning of paying
> for a poor service delivery.
>
> Thanks, what do others have to say...
>
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 5:35 AM, Sandra Nassali
> <snassali at ugabytes.org <mailto:snassali at ugabytes.org>> wrote:
>
> This has been an on going discussion on the telecentre.org
> <http://telecentre.org> spanish
> site and it got tremendous responses. It was started by Eiko
> Kawamura,
> a community facilitator on telecentre.org
> <http://telecentre.org>. Read on and give us your
> opinion:
>
> Like telecentres, internet cafes provide ICT facilities for instance
> the internet and other online facilities, secretarial services e.g
> scanning, typing, photocopying, making of calls both local and
> international, faxing, computer training/ education e.t.c.
>
> The most ultimate difference between the two is that internet cafes
> are profit oriented and telecentres are not since they are in
> place to
> realize ICT dreams of a particular community.
>
> This seems to be creating a treat to telecentres since the service
> offered are similar. Also, since internet cafes are profit
> orientated,
> they tend to provide high quality services than telecentres for
> example most use fast and reliable internet (broad band) which
> cannot
> be afforded by telecentres. They have the latest art of state
> technology which is very appealing ( cool computers, smart public
> phones, head sets extra).
>
> They also hire qualified staff, are consistent in business and this
> puts them in position to sustain themselves year in year out unlike
> telecentres. We should n't also forget that very other day that
> passes, ICT services become very affordable and this favors internet
> cafes in way since there is no need for them to charge a lot of
> money
> to their clients unlike before.
>
> Today, one would n't be surprised to find internet cafes in rural
> areas too because they are almost every where now.
>
> So where does this live the telecentres? In or out of business?
> And if
> they are to stay in business, what competencies, skills and
> knowledge
> do they need to acquire?
>
> Share your opinions with us.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Sandra.
>
> --
> Sandra Nassali
> Community Facilitator
> UgaBYTES Initiative (www.ugabytes.org <http://www.ugabytes.org>)
> Telecentre.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com
> <http://www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com>)
> Plot 2218 Ggaba Road,
> 2nd Floor Kangave House
> P.O. Box 6081 K'la
> Email snassali at ugabytes.org <mailto:snassali at ugabytes.org>
> chat (skype)- n.sandra.
> Tel +256-414-370163
>
>
>
>
> --
> Nalwoga Sarah Mpagi
> Program Officer
> Knowledge Management & Research
> UgaBYTES Initiative
> Plot 2218 Ggaba Road, Kabalagala
> 2nd Floor, Kangave House
> P.O. Box 6081 Kampala, Uganda
> Mobl: +256 772 433 158
> Off: +256 414 370 163
> Check our web: www.ugabytes.org <http://www.ugabytes.org>
> skype: sarah.nalwoga.mpagi
>
>
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