Govt Foots Bill For 65,000 Acer 3G Notebooks For Queensland Schoolkids

Acer will be pumping up to 65,000 notebooks into the Queensland school system by the end of the year under a government contract.
The tender from the Queensland Department of Education and Training will see thousands of Acer Aspire 1830T notebooks (which typically retail at $1,299) enter the hands of school students, paid for by the Federal Government’s National Secondary School Computer Fund.

“A rollout of high-end, 3G laptops has never been done before in Australia, let alone on this scale,” said Department of Education Chief Information Officer, David O’Hagen.

“This 3G initiative will ensure more than 60,000 state high school students have access to the department’s online learning environment, anywhere and at any time.”

The national goal is to have a computer in every student’s hands from school years 9 to 12 by the end of the year.

A similar roll-out has been seen in New South Wales over the past few years, with the Government contributing $1000 per computer and up to $1500 for its maintenance.

It was revealed last month that Queensland families were being charged for optional extras like insurance and tech support on the notebooks while NSW students were not, according to the Courier Mail.

O’Hagen said that fees may apply to Queenslanders taking the notebooks home because of the additional services offered beyond the Federal Government’s funding.

He also noted that the Queensland laptops were higher spec than others, including 3G connectivity as seen in the new Aspire 1830T notebooks now being rolled out.

Acer is also providing Targus notebook bags and its Educare anti-theft software under the government agreement.