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Jakarta Post

The virtual world of Yogyakarta's cafes

The Internet wireless connection facility known as WiFi, or "hotspot", has now spread throughout Yogyakarta

Slamet Susanto (The Jakarta Post)
Yogyakarta
Fri, August 8, 2008

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The virtual world of Yogyakarta's cafes

The Internet wireless connection facility known as WiFi, or "hotspot", has now spread throughout Yogyakarta.

Hotspot connections can now be found almost everywhere -- in houses, office complexes, caf*s, city parks, sporting grounds and schools.

Even angkringan (the term used in Yogya for common people and the places where they gather) have made Internet facilities available.

It is now a common sight to see members of the younger generation -- with laptops in tow -- gathering at places where hotspot connections are available.

Caf*s where university students gather are often crowded with people researching on the Internet.

Caf*s or lesehan (eateries that offer low tables to sit at) with hotspots that offer a hot cup of coffee and a few nglesot (plaid mats to sit on) have become popular places in the city.

Even Gajah Mada University complex, for example, has provided a hotspot on its campus, where students can be seen enjoying the connection while sitting under the surrounding shady trees.

Located in the Sawitsari Housing complex, Condongcatur, Sleman is the Angkringan Umar Kayam Foundation (YUK) named after a famous Indonesian sociologist. The foundation's angkringan opens at 7 p.m. and is crowded with visiting university students that come to enjoy its free hotspot service.

Visitors can also read books from the collection of the late Umar Kayam: There are at least 2,000 books available at the angkringan and visitors have access to these free of charge.

Visitors can also warm themselves with a hot tea or hot ginger drink; the price is relatively cheap at Rp 1,000 (US 10 cents) per glass. Or they can eat nasi kucing (rice mixed with tiny, fried sea fish) which also costs Rp 1,000 per serving.

There are also fried snacks, offal satays and quail egg satays on offer priced from Rp 300 - Rp 1,500 (US 3 - 15 cents).

"The place is interesting and relaxing, and we can enjoy eating snacks at an affordable price," said Ridho, a regular at YUK.

"To attract more visitors, YUK shows a film once a week. Visitors often stay behind to talk about the film and have a relaxed discussion to improve their understanding of society," said Iwan.

Another popular hotspot lesehan can be found at the Djendelo Tanah Airkoe Caf* on Jl. Affandi. Draped across the caf*'s doorway is a banner showing a picture of a village girl wearing traditional Javanese dress and the words "Hot Spot Nglesot".

While enjoying inexpensive beverages, visitors can access the hotspot facility, which is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

There are many coffee stalls in parts of Yogyakarta, such as along Selokan Mataram, Gejayan, Sagan and Terban, which also offer hotspots.

Yogyakarta's malls and shopping centers also offer hotspot facilities, including Ambarukmo Plaza on Jl. Laksda Adisucipto and the Jogjatronik Mall on Jl. Brigjen Katamso.

Even sporting locations, such as Neo Futsall, the futsall (indoor football) court in Terban, is also served by a free Internet service.

The boom in the number of places for the younger generation to hang out while enjoying a free hotspot facility has mainly come about because Yogyakarta is an education city. Hundreds of thousands of university students, including international students, come to study in the special province.

With the cost of hotspot access points decreasing significantly in the last two years, the growth of hotspot facilities has reached epidemic proportions in Yogyakarta. The cost of purchasing a point access service currently costs Rp 400,000 (US $45), which can serve as a hotspot facility.

Monthly hotspot costs vary; some service suppliers offer a choice of tariffs varying from Rp 100,000 to Rp 750,000 (US $10 to $80).

Nyoto Priyono, the general manager of PT Telecommunication for Yogyakarta and Kedu, said that up until July 2008, the number of Speedy service subscribers had increased by up to 250 percent compared with the number of subscribers in 2007.

"We assume that by this August the number of subscribers will have increased to 11,000 people, and by the end of year the number of subscribers is expected to have risen by 400 percent compared with the year before," said Nyoto.

Nyoto told The Jakarta Post the need to have access to the Internet had become important to many people, and that was why demand was so high.

The situation, he added, had also been encouraged by the falling cost of laptops. Four years ago, the price of a laptop was in the tens of millions of rupiah; nowadays a new laptop can be purchased for a little as Rp 3 million (US $320).

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