Business Buzz

Pay phones are passé. To make a connection nowadays, technically inclined consumers are putting their quarters into coin-operated Internet kiosks.

"Essentially, we're offering coin-operated Internet access in public places," says Kevin Saxe, president of CafeNet Inc., the Los Angeles-based company behind the concept. "We've created a system that allows the user to be away from home and [still be] connected to the Internet."

Aimed at novice and sophisticated computer users alike, CafeNet's terminals are housed in various cafe sites in Southern California. According to Saxe, the company intends to set up terminals at airports, bookstores and shopping centers nationwide.

"As more and more people begin to do business on the Internet, there's a definite need for public Internet access," says Saxe, whose company charges consumers 25 cents for three minutes or $5 an hour on the Internet. "[We offer] a place where people can walk up and check their e-mail, send e-mail, possibly buy something through the World Wide Web, and then go on their way."

Now that's a good connection.

Research assistance by Stephanie Osowski

This article was originally published in the February 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Business Buzz.