The Kerala government’s ambitious public-focused project, KFON, to provide free high-speed internet to the poor and affordable to others, is expected to be completed by the year end. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, said that the first phase of this ambitious project was successfully completed in the month of February, 2021.
About K-FON
KFON which stands for Kerala Fiber Optic Network is the Kerala government’s ambitious project to bridge the digital divide in the state. It will act as a complementary infrastructure to the existing telecommunications ecosystem in the state through which various access and services will be provided to underserved areas of the state. As part of this project, the Kerala government will provide high-speed internet to the poor free of charge and at prices affordable to others. It will also provide high-speed Internet access to some 30,000 educational and government institutions.
Implementation of this project
As part of the first phase, 35000 kilometers of fiber optic cable, a survey of 30,000 offices and 8 lakh poles by the Kerala State Electricity Agency (KSEB) has been completed. The first phase started in the districts of Thrissur, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha. The construction of a network operations center and the laying of cables through KSEB masts advanced and 7,389 government institutions have already been connected as part of the KFON project. This project was announced by the state government in the month of May 2020.
Objectives of K-FON
The KFON network will act as a solid foundation for all G2C, G2G and B2C interactions. The main aim of KFON are the creation of a network infrastructure centrally where all service providers can gain non-discriminatory access so that they can widen their connectivity gap and also to implement a secure, reliable and scalable intranet that connects all government agencies, educational institutions, hospitals, and more. Also K-FON will work with TSP, MSO and ISP to bring free Internet to all the economically disadvantaged households of the state.
Last Modified: February 13, 2024