THE density of Internet cafés in Cebu and in neighboring cities has pushed a businessman to consider expanding to the countryside.

Last week, Francisco Lim opened the newest branch of his Voyager Internet café in Consolacion, Cebu. The outlet has 30 seats, although it can house 56 more.

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Voyager, which started five years ago with an estimated capital of P750,000, now has six branches and at least 350 computer units. Its main branch is in Sanciangko St., Cebu City, which can accommodate 160 customers at the same time.

Lim wants to raise the total number of seats of the Voyager chain to 400 by the end of the year. He is also considering the cities of Talisay and Lapu-Lapu for future expansion.

Stable growth

Despite the stiff competition, he said that his business continues to enjoy stable growth—due largely to gaming. He said about 80 percent of his revenues come from gaming—an activity participated in not only by teenagers but young professionals as well.

“Playing in an Internet café is different from playing at home. In a café, you will be playing in groups and there is the feel of excitement. The Internet connection is faster, too,” Lim said.

While gaming makes the business venture lucrative, he lamented that the growth potential of the industry in the Philippines is restricted by stiff competition that has prompted many players to engage in a “price war.”

Several cafés now are offering services at P6 or P8 per hour, he said. Other cafés charge P20, P15 or P10 per hour. Voyager charges P15 per hour in the morning and P10 per hour in the evening.

“It is unfair for us that we are complying with licenses and using genuine Microsoft products while (some) cafés do not (so) their prices are very competitive,” he said, recalling that the Internet Cafe Association of Cebu has been criticized for its efforts to standardized rates in a climate of free enterprise.

Voyager partnered with Microsoft and Thinking Tools Inc. for its licensed software and equipment. It has an existing partnership with Level Up, developer of computer games.

Rather than getting involved in the price war, Lim said he decided to improve the quality of service at Voyager outlets by providing faster Internet connection, good customer relationship, and maintaining a clean and pleasant environment for users.

“We are trying to create a brand that informs people that we are not a fly-by-night Internet café. We upgrade our equipment once every two years and we have a computer technician in the house,” he said.

He said any person can open a cyber café as long as he has the capital and the strategic location. It is a matter of how to manage it, he said.