Post by daroyski on Oct 17, 2005 13:38:03 GMT 8
The internet Café Association of Davao (ICAD) is
asking City Hall to peg a floor price of P20 per hour
for internet cafés to prevent some establishments from
closing down because of the stiff competition and
cutthroat pricing of some operators.
In an assembly held Saturday night, over 150 ICAD
members said they feared that continued competition in
floor rates might kill small café operators should
City Hall fail to intervene.
Aside from the floor price, the ICAD members also
agreed not to give an additional hour incentive to
those who use their computers for more than an hour.
ICAD president Adolfo Solanor said operators can
provide incentive to long internet user in the form of
soft drinks and junk foods but not in lowering the
floor rate after an hour of use.
Solanor said it is high time internet café
operators police their own ranks as they asked Mayor
Rodrigo Duterte to sanction any violator of the
agreement.
Aside from competition, the operators are also facing
other threats. “We have the impending expanded
value-added tax, water rate increase, and power rate
increase, yet the competition is getting stiffer,” an
operator said.
Ruby, an Internet café owner in Toril for the last
six years, said he and other operators have been
discussing a fixed floor rate in their area, “but the
day after each meeting, my competitors again offer
lower floor rates which prompted customers to flock to
their café. Those who cannot afford to lower their
price stand to lose their business.”
Bong, another operator, said unlike before, it is not
easy to run a profitable internet business “because
everyone competes neck to neck just to survive.”
During the open forum, lawyer Joseph Dominic
Felizarta of the City Legal Office told operators that
the internet law of the city is specific anybody who
violates any provision faces a fine of P1,000 and five
day suspension for the first offense , P2,000 and two
weeks suspension for the second offense, and P3,000
and revocation of business permit by the City Mayor
for the third offense.
asking City Hall to peg a floor price of P20 per hour
for internet cafés to prevent some establishments from
closing down because of the stiff competition and
cutthroat pricing of some operators.
In an assembly held Saturday night, over 150 ICAD
members said they feared that continued competition in
floor rates might kill small café operators should
City Hall fail to intervene.
Aside from the floor price, the ICAD members also
agreed not to give an additional hour incentive to
those who use their computers for more than an hour.
ICAD president Adolfo Solanor said operators can
provide incentive to long internet user in the form of
soft drinks and junk foods but not in lowering the
floor rate after an hour of use.
Solanor said it is high time internet café
operators police their own ranks as they asked Mayor
Rodrigo Duterte to sanction any violator of the
agreement.
Aside from competition, the operators are also facing
other threats. “We have the impending expanded
value-added tax, water rate increase, and power rate
increase, yet the competition is getting stiffer,” an
operator said.
Ruby, an Internet café owner in Toril for the last
six years, said he and other operators have been
discussing a fixed floor rate in their area, “but the
day after each meeting, my competitors again offer
lower floor rates which prompted customers to flock to
their café. Those who cannot afford to lower their
price stand to lose their business.”
Bong, another operator, said unlike before, it is not
easy to run a profitable internet business “because
everyone competes neck to neck just to survive.”
During the open forum, lawyer Joseph Dominic
Felizarta of the City Legal Office told operators that
the internet law of the city is specific anybody who
violates any provision faces a fine of P1,000 and five
day suspension for the first offense , P2,000 and two
weeks suspension for the second offense, and P3,000
and revocation of business permit by the City Mayor
for the third offense.
??