JEDDAH, 28 April 2005 — Three months after the government stopped issuing or renewing licenses for Internet cafes because of security concerns, some cafe owners and investors are having financial security concerns of their own.
The licenses were stopped abruptly three months ago by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs until new safeguards could be put in place to prevent misuse of the information superhighway, but for cafe owners it’s a business breakdown with no fix in sight.
“I submitted a request to open up an Internet café and received the conditions,” said businessman Obeidallah.
“I rented a place in the Sharafiah district at SR45,000 and prepared the location with equipment that cost me more than SR100,000. When I went to the municipality after finishing everything I was surprised to find that they’d stopped issuing licenses for Internet cafes.”
Having an Internet cafe without Internet is much like having a coffee shop without coffee. “I’m avoiding closing the place, but it’s been more than three months with the situation ongoing as is,” Obeidallah said. “Who will bear the losses caused by the license issue?”
The ministry move took many entrepreneurs by surprise.
“I applied to open an Internet café, and I was handed a list of all the things that were needed to follow through, such as a sign for the place, filling out forms, getting the other procedures done,” said Hassan Al-Harbi.
“I did all that was asked and rented a place with the interior design and all. And after the Haj vacation I went to the municipality and they surprised me, saying that there are new regulations that prohibit the issuing of any more Internet café licenses and that one can’t even renew his license. I’ve lost more than SR80,000,” Al-Harbi added.
As for the government, ministry officials say a resolution is on the way, but security concerns take precedence over profit.
“The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs stopped issuing licenses for Internet cafes in all regions in the Kingdom temporarily until new security controls that are under study with the Ministry of Interior are fully completed,” said Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, deputy director of public relations at the municipality.
“The study will be done in a month and a half. Afterward, licenses will be issued.”
