Asks Akumbu Uche (Student Editor)
One Saturday evening, I found myself at the Express Internet Cafe at Bauchi Ring Road, Jos. I had walked for about 15 minutes from my house to surf the net, read and send some e-mails.
Located opposite the college of Accountancy, the cafe building is small. It has only six computer-holding cubicles and a round table that can seat about four people who come with their own personal computers.
The weather outside was calm and cheerful, the harsh glare of the midday sun had gone and that particular time of the day was conducive to leisure activities. Yet, except for the cafe manager, and myself the cafe was empty. I wondered why.
Internet cafes or cybercafés as they are alternatively called began to spring up in various parts of the country as early as the year 2000. At first, they were expensive, charging about N 500 for an hour’s worth of browsing time but as the novelty wore off and they became increasingly popular, they also became more affordable.
Today, an hour’s worth of browsing time costs about N 120 on average – a fair charge for many who cannot afford a modem of their own. Lately, mobile phone technology has become more sophisticated and many mobile handsets come with features that allow for Internet access.
Three major mobile networks in the country – MTN, Glo and Airtel have special low tariff packages or ‘bundles’ which give their users an option to choose either a ‘pay-as-you-go’ service or a monthly subscription. Another mobile operator, Etisalat, currently provides free internet services to its users.
Combine these initiatives with the portability of mobile phones and it is easy to see why people are shunning cybercafés in favour of their phones. As Kuma Iliya, a young lawyer doing her youth seervice in Abuja put it, the mobile phone offers “easy accessibility.”Charles Omorodion Osagie, an IT specialist in Lagos shed a different light on the matter. “I prefer using my mobile phone because in an Internet cafe, one’s privacy can be easily compromised”, he said.
However, not everyone is enthusiastic about mobile browsing. Some like Nanloh Nimven, a medical student in the University of Jos, possess basic format phones that only allow for calls and text messages. Others are like Femi Abraham, a job seeker in Kaduna who owns one of the latest smartphones, a Blackberry Torch 9800.
His claim is that even smartphones such as the Blackberry and the iPhone are less advanced than the average computer and he is dissatisfied with their limitations. For thesepeople, the Internet cafe still holds an appeal.
I asked the Manager of the Express Internet cafe, Jerry Luka whether the popularity of mobile browsing posed a threat to his business. He shook his head. “People still patronize the cafe”, he said, confidently. He acknowledged that the mobile phone provided more intimacy for online chatting but added, “Many mobile phone users come to the cafe, to read and download PDF documents. Also, they cannot all afford printers so they still come here to print.”
A newcomer, Alex Izang, interrupted our conversation. He wanted to download and fill an online application form, something he said, he could not do on his internet friendly handset. Realizing that night had begun to fall, I took my leave. On my way out, I brushed past three young men eager to make their way in.
Perhaps, Luka was right. The little Internet cafe still has its champions.
