Context: Recently the Kerala government on Tuesday launched its ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project to take internet to every house across the state.
About Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON)
- Kerala has become the first state to launch its own internet service in the country with an optical fibre cable network of 30,000 km.
- With this scheme, the Kerala government is set to provide free internet to poor and affordable internet service to all who reside in the state
- The aim of the project is to give free internet to 20 lakh families from economically backward classes.
- A public sector undertaking (PSU), BEL is responsible for planning, procurement, execution, operation, monitoring and control.
- While RailTel, another PSU, is responsible for the supply, installation, testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of all IT components.
- The government will provide internet access to 100 houses in each legislative assembly constituency in the initial phase.
- K-FON has a built-in IT infrastructure capable of setting up 40 lakh internet connections across the state after completion.
- Consumers can access internet services at a speed starting at 20 Mbps and can avail connections of higher speed based on individual requirements.
- The government wants to bridge the digital divide and empower marginalised sections of society, thereby ushering in a digital revolution.
- It hopes that this project will bring changes and open up new avenues for social and economic development.
- According to the official website, KFON will be able to connect to the nearly 8000+ mobile towers and significantly enhance mobile call quality.
- This will also accelerate the 4G/5G transitions.
- Presently 80 per cent of the towers are not fiberized and uses radio, an issue for the 4G/5G rollout, which will also be solved by KFON.