Kerala government’s initiative K-FON is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country to bridge the digital gap and end the private monopoly.
The K-FON project aims to provide internet connection to 14,000 BPL families. (Creative Commons)
Two days after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) gave a green signal to the Kerala Fibre Optic Network Limited (K-FON) as an internet service provider (ISP), the state-run facility is gearing up to provide free internet connections to 14,000 families who live below the poverty line (BPL).
The Kerala government’s K-FON initiative is a first of its kind in the country, aimed at bridging the digital gap and ending private monopoly in the internet service sector.
K-FON Managing Director (MD) S Santhosh Babu said: “100 BPL families from every Assembly constituency will benefit from free internet services in the initial stage.”
He added that the state government has around 140 assembly constituencies, and the local self-governing bodies have been directed to prepare the list of beneficiaries.
“Selected families can use 1.5 GB of data at 10 Mbps to 1Gbps speed every day. Every month, they can use 150 GB of data,” explained Babu.
The MD added that public sector Bharat Electronics Limited has been entrusted with the task of repairing and maintenance at a fee of ₹368 crore for the next seven years.
K-FON has been granted a Category-B unified licence by the DoT.
The state-run ISP plans to cater to private applicants from mid-August.
“Kerala is the only state to have an ISP licence and an internet-connectivity project,” said Babu.
According to the sanctioned infrastructure provider (IP) licence, K-FON can acquire fibre-optic lines, towers, duct space, network, and other infrastructure facilities required for setting up an optic fibre network.
It can also lease out, rent out, or sell equipment to other providers.
K-FON is also planning to rent out its optical-fibre network across the state to private service providers to channel a steady income. The facility will be known as “lease to line”.
The current cable line comprises 48 fibres out of which two dozen are required for the functioning of K-FONE and the state electricity board. The remaining fibres would be rented out.
K-FON has developed a fibre network of over 30,000 km in the state. The state-run ISP expects to earn ₹60 crore in revenue from it every year.
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