Telecom Rentals Ltd., Telecom’s technology finance subsidiary, has won a multimillion dollar contract to provide leased laptops to primary and secondary schools across New Zealand.
The three-year deal with the Ministry of Education, one of the largest laptop deployments in Australasia, will replace some 45,000 laptops leased to eligible teachers and principals at 2,500 schools nationwide.
Geoff Hamilton, Telecom Rentals General Manager, said that the new deal provided schools 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 could be streamed online for distance learners and classrooms from opposite sides of the world can share lessons.”
“We 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. It’s a great result for thousands of teachers throughout New Zealand and we’re looking forward to working with the Ministry and delivering on this very successful Government initiative,” he said.
Telecom Rentals Ltd. is the technology finance subsidiary of the Telecom NZ Group and provides Telco and IT asset financing for business customers nationwide. The new contract, awarded under the Ministry of Educations’ Laptops to Teachers and Principals (TELA) Scheme, will continue to subsidise laptops for eligible teachers and principals through the Ministry’s e-learning programme.
Gen-i will be supporting 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 2,500 schools. The contract, awarded via competitive tender, takes effect from 1 March 2012 with the first consignment of laptops to be delivered soon afterwards.