Comparing Internet Cafe Rates Worldwide

tcd004 writes "I recently began compiling the hourly rates from Internet cafes around the world into a map. The result reveals wildly different prices, even in countries with similar economic conditions and technological development. This often puts access out of reach for large populations in developing countries who live on less than $1 per day. It seems government policies and telecom deregulation (in countries like Nigeria) are often the strongest forces determining a cafe's hourly rates. If you want to do some of your own rate hunting, take a look at sites like Cybercafes.com."

ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF

[Anonymous Coward]

I AM THE SON OF A WEALTHY INTERNET CAFE GENERAL...i have a vast fortune that needs to be transfered out of the country...

Finally

[otisaardvark]

We can start compiling better (and statistically, better 'weighted') indicators of PPP than the incredibly successful (but somewhat outdated) Big Mac Index [economist.com].

Turkey

[birdwax2k]

Looks like i'm heading to Turkey. But seriously, do people even use Cyber Cafes? I find that most of their policies about pr0n render them useless, especially with public indecency laws.

Do these countries have any idea what other countries are being charged? I think they are just making up numbers that sound good, while making the most money off of it.

Re:Government Subsidies

[daveo0331]

Ghana, in particular, has done this as they believe that increased exposure to the outside world will help encourage its citizens to become literate.

I take it Ghana has never heard of AOL.

Re:No Korea?

[Anonymous Coward]

And they're really cheap to boot.

How much does it cost to actually use the computer? Turning on a computer is fun and all, but it gets a little boring after awhile.

HAHHAHAHHH FUNNUNUY! I AM SO FNNUY!

Who needs em?

[Anonymous Coward]

Who needs internet cafes? There are plenty of unsecured wireless access points.

The implication is what?

[jj_johny]

The assumtption is that Cyber Cafes are not accessible to the general public is a problem. That kind of business (Cyber Cafes)is oriented toward those that people who have some money and need to contact the outside world with something other than mail or telephone. So what am I supposed to do with your map anyways plan my next vacation?

And as for the relationship between price and government policy, I would be more interested to see what the relationship is between government policy in new areas like the Internet vs the government policy in general.

In Kazakstan, the capital had a couple of Cafes that went for $1 or 2 / hour. It made life much more bearable there when the only English is the occasional English language video on the TV.

Re:South Korea

[rocket_d00d]

Over here in Oslo, I see lots of Internet cafés and they're almost always empty.

The "porn booths" some of them have installed seems to be frequently visited, though :-)

Re:Numbers are way off for India

[orabidoo]

It's still like that, I don't know where they came up with their Rs 60+ / hour rate. Maybe some really touristic place.

In south Indian cities you can have fast internet for about 20 Rs an hour, that's less than half a dollar. In smaller cities and towns it's about the same rate, even cheaper, but then the connections are *really slow*.

Re:Hm..

[Dimensio]

Good lord, no wonder they're scamming. They're not trying to get rich, they just don't have any other way to afford Internet connectivity!

On the other hand, it does make me feel even better about baiting the scammers. Every minute wasted sending me email (even more when they send me silly pictures of themselves dumping water on their heads) is money that they've lost.

Re:Nice Cybercafe Listing

[Quixote]

All it has is a banner ad for cheese!

I hear the site is located in Wisconsin...

On a side note: I checked for Cybercafes in India, and the very first entry says:
ONLY CYBER CLUB WHO CARES FOR ITS CUSTOMERS & DOES NOT CHEAT.

I'm glad they cleared that up..

wonderful

[Prince Vegeta SSJ4]

South Korea that Internet cafés there are what bookstores were in the 90s. Pickup/meeting places.

Now, not only are we exporting jobs, but we will export actual people as well as slashdotters look for a place to finally get a date!

Re:3u$s/hour in Argentina?

[Anonymous Coward]

> internet access might be 3u$s/h if it includes a blowjob.

Problem is, all your blowjobbing cybercafe chicks are here in Chile at the moment earning money off the US Marines on shore-leave.

Yeah.. the Aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan" is in town, and aren't those boys enjoying themselves.