A big drive is underway in UK to bring internet access to a large sector of the population who have never had the opportunity to surf the net. If it succeeds, the technology may well be exported to the rest of Europe and the US. While politicians and consumer groups have warned of the danger of a new division of society between those online and those excluded from the communications revolution, companies are now lining up to offer coin-operated internet access. Machines are springing up in public libraries to enable users to enlarge their knowledge for as little as $6.50 an hour. But there is a bigger and more lucrative market looming. Hastings UK-based start-up Webzone Plc has ambitious plans to roll-out 1,250 of its machines over the next year aimed at airport terminals and bars. They are aiming purely at entertainment in the style of seaside arcades, offering everything from off-line gambling and games and videoconferencing so that people can chat by appointment at what they hope will be a far-flung network. The concept of the machine was that of a person who is not computer literate at all, said business development manager Brian Hitcham. That gives him a better insight into what is easier to use than a computer-literate person. The brains behind the dumbed-down PC was the firm’s managing director David Wicks and the company sees a potential market with computer-phobes the world over. Hitcham even sees a possibility for big sales in the US, as most American coin-operated machines available tend to be little different from those found in cyber cafes. Webzone aims to charge users the equivalent of $24.50 an hour and reach arrangements with those who provide sites on how they share the spoils. A different approach is being taken by Coynet Ltd, the UK offshoot of Yellowknife, Canada-based Coynet International Corp. With a complete machine and desk on offer for the equivalent of $5,235, it has found a growing market among UK libraries who are keen to play their part in offering internet access for all. They offer a complete machine with keyboard and mouse, though a special browser has been adapted to ensure that children are not enticed into the less savory sites on the net. Users are also given email facilities from the company’s own site. Managing director Edward Sheeran takes the view that the market is not yet ready for internet in bars but doesn’t rule that out for the future. Internet kiosks is a market about which many are optimistic – though it has yet to take off in a big way.
