What is an Internet Cafe?
An internet cafe, or a cyber cafe, is a business establishment with a network of computers that is centered around giving high-speed and high bandwidth internet to the public with relatively low fees.
Although Internet cafes are extremely popular and frequently used in countries with weaker internet connections and mobile internet access, they are less popular in the US.
In the United States and several other countries, due to the abundance of free public internet access in big establishments, hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops, internet cafes have become a relic of the past, especially in big cities.
Nowadays, you can find free access to the internet and free wifi on cruise ships, and in airports, copy centers, and many other locations. Therefore, your access to the Internet is not limited to Internet cafes.
But keep in mind that if you are living or traveling outside the United States, it is necessary to be familiar with and able to use internet cafes safely.
Why Should I Use an Internet Cafe?
If you are traveling light and don’t want to carry your laptop or your mobile service is not covered in your destination country by your provider, Internet Cafes can be extremely useful for you.
They are inexpensive and available in many countries, so you don’t have to risk losing your valuable tablet or laptop if you are traveling to a country that is not safe.
You can use internet cafés or net cafes to check and respond to your emails, share and upload photos and videos on your cloud account, or use VoIP for a short period.
Around the globe, there are many countries in which public Internet access, free wireless internet, or mobile internet is not widely available or affordable. In such countries, you can rely on internet cafes, or cyber cafes, to tend to your online needs. As an added bonus, many internet cafés serve coffee and cocktails.
Internet cafes can also provide a crucial service to locals within a community. In certain countries, smaller cities, and rural areas, many have limited access to the internet or technology in general.
Sometimes, you may find that these establishments are extremely busy, trying to cater to the local population’s needs, and have strict time or data usage limits.
How Much Does Internet Cafes Cost?
Most Internet Cafes are usually fairly inexpensive and affordable. However, the rates might differ in different regions of the world due to how expensive it is to equip that location with the internet and how much it costs the establishment to use the internet.
Internet Cafes usually charge by the hour, meaning that you only have to pay for the amount of time you are using a computer system.
Therefore, there is no general average price. Some Internet Cafes charge by hour, others by minute. Their rates are dependent on the location and price of internet in that region.
But this may vary in different places, and sometimes, data usage might be added to the basic fee as well. For example, if you are on a cruise ship, internet access can be very expensive due to roaming costs, and you may experience troubles with internet connectivity and face interruptions in your internet connection. Make sure you know the rates before you start using their services.
If you are staying at a place where you need to frequently use an Internet Cafe or for long periods, you may be able to benefit from special packages they provide for frequent users.
These packages can cut the prices and make the cost of using their services more reasonable to you if you are in a location with costly internet usage.
How Can I Find an Internet Cafe?
Before traveling to a location, try to go on the internet to research and find the best-rated cybercafes in that region.
Often, travel guides can be very helpful to travelers in this regard, as they consider the availability of public and free internet access in that region and recommend internet cafes or other options for high-speed internet connection with paid or free access.
You can do a Google search to find net cafés in the area you are going to travel to and use Google Maps to find and locate the internet café with the best high-speed internet services.
Internet Cafés can offer both wired and wireless services depending on the location and the establishment itself. And other than connecting you to the World Wide Web, they can offer you other services as well.
Like a coffee shop, an internet café might serve coffee and other hot beverages. They might also have a bar or a small kitchen with food and alcoholic drinks.
How to Use an Internet Café Safely
Keep in mind that when you are using an Internet Café, you are using a computer that is open to use for everyone.
Therefore, public computers at a cybercafe are less secure than your private or at-work computer systems. If your data is sensitive and important, make sure to take a lot of precautions when using a net café.
Bring Your Personal USB Flash Drive
Always bring along a USB flash drive to keep the portable software programs you might need and any special settings or necessary documents.
This way, you can keep all of the data you need with you, but none of it remains on the Net café’s computer once you unplug your USB drive.
As a safety measure, make sure you have previously installed antivirus, anti-spyware, and anti-malware software programs on your USB flash drive.
Have All the Data You Might Need on a Cloud Storage
Some Internet Cafés do not allow you to use a personal USB flash drive as a safety measure. In this case, you have to rely on the data and files you have previously uploaded to your cloud storage.
Therefore, it is a good idea to make sure everything you might need is available on a cloud account.
Make Sure None of Your Data Remains on the System
Although almost all computers at a net café have programming that deletes all new data once the system is reset or shut down, as an extra measure of safety, try to make sure none of your data is on the computer before you leave.
Log Out of Your Accounts
Be aware that your computer screen might be visible to others around you and passers-by. Take extra caution when putting in your passwords or dealing with other sensitive information.
If you have logged in to one or several accounts, such as your email, make sure you log out before leaving. Forgetting to do so might put a lot of your important information in jeopardy, as you have allowed anonymous people to have access to your accounts.
Clear the Browser History and Cache
Clear web browser history, temporary files all, cache, and all cookies when you are done using the computer. If not extremely necessary, avoid logging in to bank accounts and other websites where you have very sensitive data.
Can I Play Online Games in Internet Cafés?
It depends on the specific Internet Café you are using, as different net cafés have different rules set in place for online gaming.
There are certain Internet Cafés that are customized for online gaming and already have the equipment and set up for such purposes, which makes them a hub for lovers of online games in the region.
For example, in South Korea, there are cyber cafes called PC Bangs, which are high-tech cafes with computer access and internet access procured for playing games.
PC bangs can allow their customers to play either an online game or offline multiplayer through a LAN connection to other computers in the lounge.
This will allow customers to play games with their friends for an hourly fee.
What Was the First Internet Cafe?
The history of the first cyber cafe is open to speculation as the business grew very large during a short period of time as it rose to popularity.
Electronic Cafe
In the days when internet access didn’t exist like now, in East Asia, Electronic Cafe was opened to the public in March 1988, becoming the first internet café in East Asia and maybe in the world.
The cafe had additional services to customers, like offline meetings, and soon became a place for meeting and connecting with people both online and offline.
SFnet Coffee House
In 1991, in San Francisco, the SFnet coffee house network started to operate, offering customers coin-operated computers in coffee shops across San Francisco.
SFnet terminal-based cafes discontinued their services back in August 1997.
Cafe Cyberia
Cafe Cyberia was the first cybercafe in the UK, which started serving customers back in September 1994 in London’s West End by Ivan Pope. It provided its customers with a network of desktop computers and full access to the Internet.
It is said that Pope was the first person who conceived the idea of a cyber cafe, which was to be a coffee shop with internet access.
The cafe’s gamer space became very popular, with gamers turning to a social hub for them. The franchise was sold to investors from South Korea in 2001 and was rebranded as Be The Reds internet gaming cafe.
The High Tech Cafe
The High Tech Cafe was the first public and commercial cafe in the United States, co-founded by Jeff Anderson and Alan Weinkrantz.
It started serving customers in August 1994 from Infomart in Dallas, Texas.
General Tips for Using a Cyber Cafe
If you have never used an internet café before, keep in mind that they can be very helpful if you have done your research and follow all the security tips we have suggested.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help
If you are having any problem using the computer or having access to the internet, you can ask the tech support present to help you or ask the management to change your workstation.
Be Aware Of Time Limits
Before starting to use the computer you are provided with, ask the management if there are any preset time limits or if you should determine how long you will use the system beforehand.
This will prevent further issues that may come up, like logging out of the system in the middle of a video call as your time has reached its limit.
Make Your Passwords Travel-Friendly
Remember that not all the keyboards you will have to use during your travels can have characters specific to a certain language and special characters like ampersands.
Make sure your passwords utilize the characters that are available on all basic keyboards in the world and nothing more.
Wrap Up
Although the popularity of internet cafes has declined in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, they are still a major part of life and a very necessary service in countries around the globe.
Make sure that if you are traveling to a country that forces you to use an internet cafe in order to access the internet, you know all necessary safety and convenience measures to keep your experience a pleasant one.