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Intel Unveils Platform for Rural India

Intel has launched a PC platform that has been developed exclusively to meet the needs of rural villages and communities in India. The Intel-powered “Community PC” platform is equipped to operate in a community setting while accommodating the varying environmental conditions prevalent in the country.

With an objective to bridge the urban-rural divide, Intel has also unveiled its “Jaagruti” (“Awakening”) initiative designed to provide rural communities in India with greater economic and social opportunities. By collaborating with leaders in business, government, education, online services and Internet service providers, Intel’s Jaagruti program will support the spread of rural Internet “kiosks” based on the new Intel-powered Community PC. These kiosks will help accelerate access to the benefits of information and communications technologies (ICT) in villages across India.

The aptly named Community PC platform was defined by Intel after intensive ethnographic studies in rural India showed that a clear desire for technology access exists in remote rural communities. Unfortunately, weather conditions (heat, dust, humidity) and unreliable power sources can compromise typical PCs used in such environments.

To address these issues, the Intel-powered Community PC platform was developed to be a fully functional, expandable and shared-access computing solution. Features include:

Ruggedized chassis: The chassis has been designed to withstand dusty conditions, varying temperatures and high humidity. It has a removable dust filter and integrated air fan to regulate the temperature of the motherboard. The chassis is designed to keep the motherboard cool at temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius and the PC resistant to humidity levels of 70 to 85 RH (Relative Humidity).
CPSU: The PC is equipped with a Customized Power Supply Unit which is comprised of an Integrated Power Supply and the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) unit, which allow the PC to maintain continuous load power in the event of a power outage.
Low power consumption: The total power consumption of all peripherals is less than 100 watts.
Access Control:The platform comes installed with a certificate-based access, allowing banks to verify the validity of installment payments against the purchase of the PCs.

Intel expects many of these Community PC platforms to be deployed in Internet “kiosks” common in Indian villages. The kiosks are operated by local entrepreneurs and provide neighboring communities with access to services such as e-Government forms (land records and marriage licenses, among others). This saves time and money for potential users who no longer need to spend an entire day and take multiple modes of transportation into the main city to complete necessary paperwork. They can now visit a local kiosk and have a kiosk “operator” input their data online quickly and cost-effectively.

The Community PC model thus provides both a means of improving efficiencies for the locals as well as creating entrepreneurship opportunities for prospective kiosk owner/operators. Intel, after studying this business model in detail and identifying the needs and limitations of existing PCs being used in rural communities in India, initiated several pilot projects utilizing the Community PC platform in villages across the country.


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