HP wins Colombia PC and Services contract

By Our Convergence Bureau | 15 Oct 2002

Palo Alto, Calif: HP (NYSE:HPQ) will provide 200,000 desktop PCs and support services for a new communications service created by Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) -- Colombia''s largest public utility service company -- under a contract made possible by the new HP''s breadth of products and services. The deal -- valued at more than $100 million (approximately $323 billion Colombian pesos) -- enables EPM to offer schools, families and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) affordable, packaged solutions as part of its Internet Proliferation Program. The solutions include a Compaq PC and monitor, Internet access, installation, technical support, computer training and telephone service for a low monthly fee financed over 36 months.

"HP is intensely focused on putting the customer first, whether in Colombia or Columbus, Ohio," said Mike Larson, senior vice president and general manager, HP Personal Systems Group. "Combining a genuine concern for the customer with industry-leading technology and services is giving HP an edge in markets throughout the Americas."

Given the size of the PC market in Colombia, the contract represents a significant increase in HP''s market share in the country. Rollout of the Internet Proliferation Program is scheduled to begin in mid-November in Medellín, Bogotá, Pereira, Manizales and Antioquia and will then continue throughout Colombia. The first step in the program will outfit Medellín public schools with computer labs containing approximately 30 to 40 PCs and monitors per room.