The realisation of the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) will provide an impetus to the state’s push towards a knowledge economy and information technology (IT) hub, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday. The KFON project is aimed at providing free internet connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the state.
"I am happy to inform you that KFON has become a reality," Pinarayi said, after inaugurating the project online. He also said that KFON would pave the way for revolutionary changes in various sectors like education, entrepreneurship and industry.
The first phase, which will also help connect users in schools, hospitals, offices and houses, was launched in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts.
Pinarayi claimed the project was a "revolutionary step" by his government to end the digital divide in the state and lift it to the height of development, linking all houses and offices with an optical fibre network.
The KFON project was launched to provide quality internet free of cost to the poor and at affordable rates to others and about 20 lakh people will get very fast and free Internet connection through this project. With the implementation of this project, the state government is laying a strong foundation to help Kerala grow as a knowledge economy and IT hub," the CM said.
The state government had announced in May 2020 that the project would be launched to provide free internet access to the poor.
“Only less than ten per cent of government offices were currently linked to the existing wide area network while fewer had fibre optic connectivity. Internet availability was confined mostly to urban areas while the network infrastructure has been limited elsewhere,” he said.
Access to the internet was made a basic right in the state in November 2019. The state cabinet had approved Rs 1548 crore KFON project to provide internet to every household in the state. In 2016, the United Nations declared internet access a human right.
With PTI inputs
Watch CM launching KFON