By Sanaullah Ataullah
Doha: Cybercafes in Doha are reaching the end of the road, with new, more advanced and sophisticated smartphones and tablets hitting the market.
Many Internet cafes have shuttered and the remaining few are struggling to remain in business by diversifying services to avoid closure.
Yet, they are not witnessing significant footfalls as an increasing number of customers are shifting to all-in-one, sleek and affordable handy devices for communication, entertainment and other usage.
Adding to the woes of Internet cafes, coffee shops of international brands are mushrooming throughout the country, including at shopping malls. They also provide free Wi-Fi — another attraction for customers — crippling the business of the Internet shops. To cap it all, telecom service providers offer competitive Internet plans and data promotions, which have exacerbated the situation, leaving Internet cafes in a challenging situation — how to drive the business before the business drives them out.
“Only low-income workers in small numbers now visit our café, mostly to use Skype and Facebook applications to communicate with their near and dear ones back home,” said an employee of a cybercafé near Sana Intersection in Old Ghanim.
“It might be more expensive for them to buy a smartphone and mobile data than go to an Internet café to talk to their families and friends. Our services are cheaper. We charge only QR5 for an hour. Customers can opt for half-hour for QR3. If they use the service for up to 45 minutes, they will have to pay QR4,” he added.
Managing overheads and other expenses amid declining demand is another dilemma for the cafe.
“We now provide additional services. We have installed coloured and black and white printers and photocopying machines, so people come here to print their documents,” said the employee. The shop charges QR2 a coloured copy and QR1 a black and white one. “We also provide typing services for filling up official forms and preparing letters but demand for such services is low.” But he sounded hopeful. “Our cafe has been serving customers since 2004. We have some loyal customers. And we are open 20 hours from 7am to 3am.”
A survey by The Peninsula found that most owners of Internet cafés either closed down permanently as the number of patrons dropped or opened new businesses.
A decade-old cybercafé in Bin Mahmoud opposite Gulf Paradise Hotel is being renovated into a commercial shop. Another one on the same street has begun serving shisha.
A year ago, an old Internet café at Town Centre in Freej Bin Omran opposite Al Ahli Hospital was turned into a computer and mobile phone repairs shop which also sells accessories. “People come and ask why we shut down the cybercafé. We ask them when was the last time they visited an Internet café. Most of them cannot remember. The answer is simple — there is no need for them to go to Internet cafes. They have smartphones and tablets,” said the technician at the computer shop.
The Peninsula
