Short-term prepaid Internet access isn’t a new idea. After all, it’s been keeping Internet cafes in business since the early days of the Web. Prepaid Internet kiosks, meanwhile, although commonplace in Europe, haven’t taken off in SA. Johannesburg-based start-up Mykiosk wants to change that by making getting online while in transit a little easier.

Wayne D’Sa has run Hype Brandz Marketing with a partner for a number of years. Until now the company’s primary focus has been on renting servers to SA online gaming communities or “clans”. But with Mykiosk the company is looking to expand into offering Internet access in public locations.

“Think of it like an Internet café but more useful and flexible,” says D’Sa, who got the inspiration while travelling. He says the units are built by local hardware vendors but run software sourced from the US.

D’Sa intends to deploy the first five units in November and ramp up installations thereafter across Gauteng. “We want to make sure we have all of the teething problems worked out before trying to distribute nationally and it just makes sense from a logistics point of view as our suppliers are in Johannesburg.”

Mykiosk is aimed at shopping malls, airports, hospitals and anywhere people might have to wait or “be in transit”. D’Sa says one of the challenges has been finding a suitable rental model for space in shopping malls.

“Malls generally offer two space rental models,” he explains. “The first is to rent a whole store, and the other is to rent space for a promotion, like parking cars in the walkways for a few weeks. We’re trying to find something in between.”

In addition to deploying its own units, Mykiosk will offer a franchise model, allowing individuals or companies to invest.

At launch, the units will only accept bank notes, and the minimum purchase will be R10, which allows the user 10 minutes of browsing time. Users can also opt to use the device as a Wi-Fi hotspot for R30 for half an hour. In due course, the units will also support credit card payments.

Each unit is connected to a broadband digital subscriber line and includes mobile data for failover.

Data is traditionally billed for by quantity, not time, but D’Sa says the company opted for time-based billing because it “wanted to keep it simple” and because it is meant to be a short-term usage service, rather than the sort one would expect to get if going to an Internet café with the intention of spending hours online.

“Internationally, the trend is for time-based billing and we looked at local Internet service providers’ wireless offerings and usage models, too, when deciding to go this route,” says D’Sa. “Our main selling point is convenience.”

Users can opt to send short video messages or images via the kiosk’s built-in camera and D’Sa says each unit is a “high-end computer with a high-speed Internet connection” so users get the maximum value out of their spend.

He says future versions of the kiosks will also include handsets for those looking to make Skype calls. The software is designed to erase all personal information between sessions so that users’ privacy isn’t compromised.

Similarly, the kiosk software has built-in functionality to block adult content and warns users of this beforehand.

Despite the prevalence of smartphones, D’Sa believes there is demand for a service like Mykiosk because “there are still many people who want a larger screen for certain tasks”.

“PC penetration in SA is still dismal and kiosks of all sorts are definitely taking off in this market,” he says. “Lots of retailers are using kiosks, including Pick ’n Pay, Dischem, Edgars and Levi’s. With broadband pricing coming down, we thought it was a good time to combine the two.”

Additional services, like the ability to buy prepaid vouchers for airtime and electricity, along with other “bolt-on services” will follow later. For now, though, D’Sa’s main focus is to get the Internet aspect of the service working flawlessly and in as many locations as possible. — Craig Wilson, TechCentral

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