Cyberage PC: A blow to reseller business

The fears of Goan resellers have come true. With the commencement of the delivery of the government subsidized Cyberage
PCs to the 12th standard science students in the state, the already dull business is expected to go
down the hill. While 1,500 PCs are expected to be supplied by 26th January, 3,000 of these will reach student homes by 31st March.

Each student has to pay only Rs 1,000 to the government which will supply a Celeron 900 PC with a color monitor and an
UPS costing totally Rs 21,500. 

Local resellers had hoped that the Government would give the contract of supplying these PCs to them boosting their
business. But nothing of the sort has happened.

Only three companies have been given the inital contract of supplying 500 each PCs. Of these, Digicom and Machado
Computers reportedly come from the state while the third, Ace Computers, hails from Pune. The supply of the
first lot of 300 PCs began on 19th December.

What worries local resellers is that the students receiving these PCs may resell it in the local market, unless loopholes are
plugged to avoid resales.

"With the onset of Cyberage PCs, the resellers will see the demand from the home segment totally drying up," points out FS
Gomes of GE Marketing and Secretary of the Goan IT Business Association (GITBA).

With the elections due to the posts of office bearers of GITBA next month, Gomes is of the opinion that the newly elected
representatives of the association should join hands with Goa Chamber of Commerce to effectively
communicate with the Government on policy matters to ensure local resellers do not miss out on business opportunities. 

SYLVESTER LOBO