Intel brings Internet cafes to rural India

Intel has announced the development of a rugged computer platform designed to withstand the heat, dust and unreliable power sources of rural India.

Most consumer PCs are not designed to withstand unusually adverse climate conditions or handle fluctuating power supplies, and that has severely limited their use in parts of some developing countries.

A fully functional computer called the Community PC, however, is well equipped to handle adverse conditions, according to Intel spokeswoman Agnes Kwan.

Intel's Community PC is designed to withstand temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius and up to 85 per cent relative humidity, and has a removable dust filter. To keep the motherboard cool, the chassis houses an integrated fan. Operating on an 'uninterruptible power supply' unit, the computer is able to maintain overall power consumption of no more than 100W, according to Intel.

Intel has partnered with Wipro and HCL Technologies to produce the components. Wipro is India's second-largest IT company. HCL Technologies is an India-based company that specialises in remote IT infrastructure.

According to Kwan, Intel is also working with local ISPs to develop Internet capabilities for wireless and land-line services.

Previous PCs-for-the-poor projects, such as the Simputer and Nicholas Negroponte's $100 wind-up laptop, have focused on making it possible for people living in rural areas of the developing world to own computing devices. The Community PC, as the name suggests, tunes in to the concept of community sharing that is prevalent in many developing areas.

"Our experience shows that ICT (information and communication technology) adoption in developing nations requires much more than providing a standard PC -- the technology often needs to be adapted to the local usage and environment of a particular country or region," William M. Siu, vice president and general manager of Intel's Channel Platforms Group, said in a statement.

Rather than offering several PCs for private ownership in a village, the Community PC programme focuses on installing one machine in a village kiosk, where time on the PC can be rented and assistance can be supplied by the kiosk owner.

Because fewer PCs are required to meet the needs of a community, it is easy to keep Community PC programme costs relatively low. Intel declined to name the price of the machine but said in a statement that it is partnering with local banks to offer payment plans to village entrepreneurs looking to set up a Community PC kiosk. The kiosk programme is called 'Jaagruti' (pronounced Zhah-grew-ty), which is Sanskrit for 'awakening', according to Kwan.

The Jaagruti kiosk Community PC platform will have certificate-based access that will allow lending banks remote-access control over payment-plan participants.

Based on several pilot projects conducted throughout India, Intel sees the Community PC as most attractive to villagers seeking a registry for government paperwork that they would otherwise have to travel extensively to retrieve and file. (The Community PC, according to Kwan, will also include a printer port.)

Kwan noted that Jaagruti is only part of a long-term and comprehensive commitment to expanding use of technology in developing areas, and that more platforms custom-tailored to emerging markets can be expected from Intel.