Intel unveils PCs for India’s rural areas
Intel on Thursday unveiled a personal computer designed for use in India’s rural areas as part of an initiative to set up 200,000 internet kiosks over the next two years in villages across the country.
Intel’s computer chips and motherboard will be used in units manufactured by leading Indian companies Wipro Infotech and HCL Infosystems. The computers are designed to withstand extreme heat and can be powered by car batteries and stationary bicycles to overcome the problem of unreliable or non-existent power supplies in India’s villages.
“India is one of our fastest growing markets and the rural population is untapped today,” said Frank Jones, president of Intel’s India operations.
Intel’s move follows the recent launch of an almost identical scheme by Microsoft to roll out 50,000 kiosks in villages over the next three years. Microsoft will manage its rollout, while Intel will leave the establishment of the kiosks to its hardware partners.
Both US technology giants recently announced massive investments in India, and their initiatives to boost computer literacy and internet access in India’s rural areas will be financed from those funds.
The programmes will enable villagers to fill out government forms and apply for jobs over the internet in their local languages.
Microsoft said it would invest $1.7bn in India over the next four years, while Intel is funnelling $1bn into the nation in the next five years. Both companies have said their rural initiatives are business ventures and not solely philanthropic.
“We are absolutely interested in helping grant these communities internet access but it is a business model for us and our partners,” Mr Jones said.
India may have built up a formidable reputation as an IT powerhouse, but its rural population remains woefully under-represented in the digital revolution that swept through the country a decade ago.
India exported $17.7m in IT software and services in the 2004-05 financial year, and an estimated $23.4m in 2005-06, according to Nasscom data.
Nasscom, the country’s leading IT association, said about 7m have access to the internet in the villages, compared with 63m in urban locations.
Describing rural internet usage as “abysmally low”, Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said the programmes from Intel and Microsoft were an initial step in bridging the digital divide between India’s rural and urban populations.
“I think it’s a great start,” he said. “The real viability will come when they [the PCs] are used for transactions.”
Mr Karnik said villagers would benefit much more once they could use the internet to sell their products, such as a farmer selling grain, or buy something they needed. “Nobody is providing a platform for them to do it today,” he said.
印度互联网时代拉开大幕
美国可能已走过了一个互联网繁荣、萧条和复苏的过程，但印度的互联网时代却刚刚开始。
印度只是一小批消费者互联网公司的总部所在地，除少数几家外，其它所有公司的营收都低于1000万美元。然而，印度在线用户人口一直在不断扩张，预计将使一些印度网络公司能与雅虎(Yahoo)或亚马逊(Amazon)等一较长短。
分析师表示，印度的宽带使用率不断上升，电子商务蒸蒸日上，在这些因素的推动下，印度互联网业正在为大规模的增长作准备。行业观察人士经常把中国作为印度未来的榜样。中国的消费互联网行业大约有十几家营收至少有1亿美元的网络公司。
“人们经常认为印度比中国落后5年，”德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)驻香港的地区互联网分析师鲍威廉(William Bao Bean)表示。“人们在中国取得了经验，过去12至18个月有数量庞大的创投资金涌入了印度。”
印度最大的网络公司是两家类似雅虎的新闻门户网站：销售额超过2000万美元的私人公司Indiatimes.com，以及在纳斯达克上市的Rediff.com，该公司去年营收达1260万美元。与此同时，雅虎、Goolge和Ebay等美国公司最近都加强了在印度的业务。
在过去3个月里，有3家网络公司从印度领先的创投基金WestBridge Capital Partners那里融到了资金，它们是新闻门户网站Indiatimes.com、Travelguru.com和婚介网站Shaadi.com，所有这3家公司都在进行扩张。
“我们现在看到的只是冰山一角。正在推动该领域的是消费者，而不是市场营销人士或出版商，”印度互联网与手机行业协会(IAMAI)会长普里蒂?德萨伊(Preeti Desai)表示。“消费者的互联网经验越丰富(通常18个月左右)，开始利用网络进行金融交易的速度就会越快。”
该协会估计，印度电子商务市场当前的规模在2.65亿美元，预计明年将增长95%，至5.18亿美元。该机构表示，印度互联网用户人数去年年底达3850万，2007年将增至9200万。
印度的宽带普及率很低，家庭互联网用户中只有1%订购高速服务。但分析师预计，电子商务将与不断上升的宽带普及率同步增长。
“整个消费者互联网领域仍处于萌芽阶段。重要拐点将出现在宽带普及两三年后，”Edelweiss Capital首席执行官拉希什?沙赫(Rashesh Shah)表示。
27岁的阿什温?达马拉(Ashwin Damera)是Travelguru的创始人，1月份他推出了针对印度旅行人士的航班和饭店预定网站，上月的首轮融资筹到了1000万美元。
达马拉先生推出他的站点，是想取得美国网站Expedia、Orbitz和Travelocity，以及中国旅行网站携程(Ctrip.com)获得的极大成功。现在，上述3家美国网络公司在美国整个旅游行业的业务份额约为30%，而携程的市值则接近10亿美元。
“可定位的目标市场在越来越大，”他说。他指出，印度人国内和国际旅行正以每年25%的速度增长。
Shaadi.com本月从WestBridge筹集到了800万美元。它是印度首个婚介交友网站，该市场规模为4000万至5000万美元，Shaadi.com至少占50%的市场份额。
该网站董事总经理阿努帕姆?米塔尔(Anupam Mittal)预计，在截至2007年3月31日的财年中，这家有5年历史的公司营收将达约2500万美元，预计未来几年每年都将实现100%的增长。
“整个良性循环将推动人们上网、使用信用卡并熟悉该网站，”米塔尔先生表示。
WestBridge最近还向有5年历史的Indiatimes.com投资了700万美元。
Indiatimes首席执行官迪内什?沃达万(Dinesh Wadhawan)表示，在未来3至5年里，公司的年营收有望每年翻一倍。“我们期望将过去几年建立的资产转化为货币收入，”他说。他补充指出，由于印度正从桌面应用转向无线应用，公司的手机铃声和屏幕壁纸等移动产品将格外受欢迎。
