Ben Uzor Jr
Cybercafé patronage in the country is declining in favour of individual subscription as telecommunications operators (Telcos) continue to roll out cheaper and innovative broadband internet services, industry analysts told BusinessDay at the weekend. Confirming the development, Ross Bateson, spokesperson for the Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) told BusinessDay that only 66 percent of users accessed the internet from a cybercafé in 2009 down from 82 percent in 2008, as workplace, home and mobile usage increased.
“Cyber usage is declining in favour of individual subscription”, he said. An analyst told BusinessDay this has also translated into revenue loss for operators of Cybercafes and job loss for those who work in those places. A prominent analyst told BusinessDay earlier that the bulk of telecoms revenue was expected to come from mobile broadband and data services in the next five years.
To this effect, mobile network operators are paying keen attention to data (internet) services as the new revenue generating stream. However, a new report from the GSMA, a global body representing the interests of mobile operators, indicated that 31 million Nigerians accessed the internet in 2009. Other estimates put the figure as high as 43 million. According to Bateson, broadband internet usage will be driven essentially by an increase in personal computer (PC) ownership, expected to rise from 7 percent of households in 2009 to 13 percent in 2014.
Gbenga Adesanya, a telecom analyst, agrees with Bateson; claiming that low-end smartphones and PCs will increasingly become the preferred consumer broadband devices. Industry analysts maintain that with the proliferation of underwater cables on the country’s coastline, and by virtue of their unified license - designed to allow them offer a bouquet of services - telcos are offering innovative and affordable internet services geared towards meeting the growing internet demands of Nigerians.
As of today, MTN, Globacom, Airtel, Starcomms, Visafone, ZoomMobile and even new entrant Etisalat, offer broadband internet services to Nigerians. Conversely, stakeholders in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector have said that Nigeria’s cybercafé industry could spring up again and become an enterprise haven if operators are focused and geared up to bring to bear the required professionalism and innovation into the business, without necessarily succumbing to the evident infrastructural challenges facing the industry.
They blamed that failure of the industry on wrong use of application and the absence of professional advice. For the industry to be revived, they suggested that operational challenges such as bandwidth unavailability due to high cost, power, poor technology infrastructure, unfriendly taxation for Internet service providers (ISPs), unaffordable modems and electronic fraud must be fully addressed. Lanre Ajayi, past president, Nigerian Internet Group (NIG), pointed out that only a change of approach will help revive the ailing industry and avert its imminent collapse.
According to him, changing of tactics has become necessary in view of the dynamics inherent in running a Cybercafé enterprise in modern day business environment; especially as it relates to emerging technologies. Ajayi observed that the demand for internet services had started increasing; this is in addition to steady adoption of online payment in the government establishments across the country in line with the global best practices. This, he added to a large extent underscores the need for evolution of Cyber business in Nigeria, built on strong business ideals and professional competence.
Check out my blog, www.benedictspace.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment