The dust resistant, low power demand Intel model called a ‘Community PC’, developed and just rolled out in India, could find its way to Sri Lanka this year.

“The Community PC is designed to meet the needs of rural communities without reliable power, no reliable internet connections, where there is a rugged environment. It is developed to work in these conditions,� Shane D Wall, Vice President, Channel Platforms Group, Intel Corp., said in Colombo on Monday.

“The PC can be recharged easily on a car or bicycle battery. This platform was developed in India and I expect will certainly be of great benefit to Sri Lanka in the near future.�

The model is designed to handle power fluctuations, with an in-built Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and can charge on three hours of electricity for eight hours of running.

It can also run on a car battery for ten hours and has dust covers for non air-conditioned environments, common in rural areas of the island.

If a customer is buying the PC on an easy payment scheme, the PC functions on a key system, where each time an instalment is paid, the user gets an access number.

If the next instalment is not paid when it is due, the machine automatically locks itself, until the next payment is made and the user gets another access number – in built protection against default and a godsend for lending banks.

“We don’t have a launch date for Sri Lanka as yet, we have just launched in India in the past few months. We are looking at a pilot in Sri Lanka this year and are currently looking for pilot sites,� Sridhar Ramaswamy, Director for Sales and Marketing for South Asia, said.

Rural Outreach

The planned launch of the Community PC is part of a joint initiative between Intel and the ICT Agency (ICTA) to drive PC use in Sri Lanka.

The e-Sri Lanka PC program, launched in 2004, tries to make computers affordable and expand access, with technical help available through trilingual call centres

Each e-Sri Lanka PC is based on Intel processor based architecture, comes with a variety of pre-loaded open source software, has an internet access option and is also available in entry level to high end options.

In a tie up with National Saving Bank, computers in three models can be bought for instalments of 1140 rupees (US$11.40) a month, paid over 36 months.

The e-Sri Lanka PC is available throughout the island, through technical partners Kobian Technologies, Neat Computers and PC House.

Sales really began picking up this year, Manju Hathotuwa, Managing Director of ICTA said, with some 2000 units sold over about seven months.

“Demand and interest have been very high and sales are starting to come in.�

“We are also carrying out a survey on ICT penetration in the island. I won’t be surprised if the 9.6 percent computer literacy in 2004 increases to 15 to 20 percent today, over just one and a half years,� Hathotuwa said.