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Microsoft, Intel come together to bridge digital divide

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CIOL Bureau
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MUMBAI: Intel India and Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. today forged an 'Affordability Alliance' aimed at bridging the digital divide in India.





The two companies announced a joint affordability initiative under which they will innovate to create affordable computing solutions, and will ensure easy and wider availability of affordable PCs across the country by driving synergies in sales and marketing across diverse customer segments.





Building on the success of their existing and individual initiatives such as the Government assisted PC program , and the Student PC program; Intel and Microsoft have identified the following levers for the growth of affordable computing: innovative financing for complete computing solutions including telecom connectivity and greater access through market segmentation.





The two companies will work with banking institutions to create innovative financing options with the intent to simplify the entire financing process, so that consumers can have easy access to PCs and use these towards realizing their potential.





To increase the desirability and access of these PCs across segments, the alliance will focus on tailored solutions for specific segments. For example, first time PC users will be able to purchase Intel Celeron or Pentium based PCs with Windows XP Starter Edition at easy installments, and students and teachers will now be able to buy an Education PC with specialized content from education service providers.





Both the companies are also in discussions with telecom service providers to integrate telecom services and broadband access into these solutions to maximize impact.















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