Telecom Rentals has signed a three-year deal with the Ministry of Education to replace some 45,000 laptops leased to eligible teachers and principals at 2500 schools nationwide.
It will be one of the largest laptop deployments in Australasia.
The lease scheme has been operating for the better part of the past decade but whereas there were previously three suppliers, Telecom Rentals has consolidated the components of the deal.
The previous suppliers were Invo, for images; Equico, financial; and Unified Software (now in liquididation), which provided a portal.
The ministry went to tender in September 2010. Telecom Rentals’ general manager, Geoff Hamilton, says he had been negotiating the deal since September last year after responding to the tender in March.
He says the new deal provides schools with a reliable and cost-effective way to access the range of new online learning technologies being made possible with ultra-fast broadband.
“The rollout of ultra-fast broadband will continue to transform the classroom environment through fast and reliable access to educational resources online. Ultra-fast broadband opens up a new way of learning where lessons can be streamed online for distance learners, and classrooms from opposite sides of the world can share lessons.
“We’ve worked closely with the Ministry of Education to come up with an innovative and flexible proposal to provide affordable laptops to teachers and principals so that they can make the most of e-learning opportunities.”
Telecom Rentals is the technology finance subsidiary of Telecom. It provides telco and IT asset financing for business customers nationally.
The new contract was awarded under the Ministry of Education’s Laptops to Teachers and Principals Scheme, which subsidises the laptops.
Gen-i will support Telecom Rentals to deliver a fully managed end-to-end supply model, including co-ordination of indemnity and warranty repairs, and a dedicated service desk for all 2500 schools.
The contract takes effect from March 1, with the first consignment of laptops to be delivered soon afterward.
The ministry uses three brands of laptop: Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Apple.