Php15/month isn’t gonna cut it.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief October 2, 2005 · 2 min read

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Just how much do Internet cafes need to charge in order to get their ROI in a year or less? I bet it’s not gonna be as low as Php15/hour.

I’m getting a bit tired of reading news about the BSA crackdown and the apparent clamors of net cafe owners about their compliance to software licensing. Com’on, one of the very first things they should have done when putting up a net cafe business is getting software licenses. It just so happened that their computations rarely (or never at all) put into consideration the costs of software acquisition.

That’s why you get Php15/hour from most of them (I’ve even heard of Php10/hour in some areas). I know, it’s a fierce competition out there with net cafes mushrooming in just about every nook and cranny but if you want a sustainable (and perfectly legit) operation, go get your licenses or better yet, go FOSS.

When I read this from IN7.net today,

This lawmaker has asked the Internet cafÃ© owners’ group to come up with a “formal position” that will likely be presented to the Business Software Alliance and law enforcement agencies currently engaged in a nationwide crackdown on local establishments using unlicensed software.

Meanwhile the representative of the Internet cafÃ© owners stressed anew that many local establishments do want to comply with government requirements to use licensed software. The current lack of supply of Microsoft software has however forced small Internet shops in the country to close down.

“Just imagine how many employees of these Internet cafÃ© shops are affected by this crackdown,” the Internet shop owner said. “Just give us enough time for us to comply. We will have self-policing. We also want to coordinate with government agencies. We will be developing open source solutions for Internet cafÃ©s soon to encourage competition.”

(bold mine) I laughed at it. Lack of supply? Hell yeah. If Php15/month is really livable, just go get legit, open source softwares. Period.

I’m blabbering now. ‘Nuf of this.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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14 Comments

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Josephine Tolentino · 19 years ago

I think one of the reason why somebody failed with their business is because of the rental fee.On my own experience, i owned the place of our business so sounds good coz instead of paying the rental i can use the money for the electricity and also you should also find somebody who is trustworthy, this is the main key on the business.My experience before is that my storekeeper is always playing the games while they are on duty i end up with a high bill on my electricity bill so please find a trustworthy employee this the key for your success in the business.

keith · 19 years ago

Fillipinoes will not pay for quality, yes I to am not from the Philippines, but if people like us (not from the Philippines) left your country, where the hell would you be, my country pays equivalent 500,000,000 ph every year to help build your roads and bridges, what a laugh, yes I pay taxes that pay for your coruption needs.

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 21 years ago

Hello Butch,

I am not sure what you meant by your reply. I merely wanted to express that local internet cafes should not go as far as Php15 when your real operational expenses and capitalization does not add up to it.

I know competition is fierce and I myself have been planning to put up a net cafe. I have seen the numbers which is why I concluded that Php15/hour won’t get you anywhere.

There’s the cost of PC, cost of softwares and OS, cost of game licenses, staff wages/salary, and bills to consider. If you add that up, your Php15 per hour will only get you Php43,800 per year per PC (at 8 hours a day, 365days/year).

A single PC will cost you around Php20,000, OS license is another 3 to 5k, plus game licenses and other expenses. You’ll end up loosing at the end of the year.

butch · 21 years ago

who the hell is this yuga…frankly speaking you’re just a pain in the ass…pushing filipinos to their own ass…and supporting americans…we’ll so much for colonial mentality…pa foreinger as if…have u heard of Rizal’s saying to people like u…i hope so…mas foreigner pa siguro ako sa iyo but u sound like an alien to this nation…so back off…instead of pushing other people…

tnanx for ur fucking space anyway

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 21 years ago

The word “cheap” is music to the ears for most Filipinos. Quality just becomes a second priority.

wilson ng · 21 years ago

it is important that people build business in a way that they can get business through quality products and services.

In the Philippines, ther eis still a prepoderance of thinking of being the lowest price.

I have never heard of a business that can sustain success by always being the lowest price. Ultimately businesses should try to build different business proposition.