The Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) has shortlisted six Internet service providers to provide Internet connection to 14,000 below the poverty line (BPL) families and 30,000 government offices in the State.
KFON is waiting for Internet Service Provider (ISP) licence from the Department of Telecommunications to go ahead with its plan to provide the first phase of connections by June-end.
Santhosh Babu, Managing Director, KFON, said the companies had quoted good prices per connection. The State government will foot this bill as part of its project to provide free Internet connections to the BPL families.
“Eight companies responded to our call and six have now qualified. The government has instructed us to go ahead with the connections once we secure an ISP licence. We have applied for the same. The process is expected to be completed in a few days. The company which has quoted the lowest amount is ready to provide connections in almost all areas, as their pricing is based on volumes,” he said.
Infra in place
Infrastructure has been installed in 23,091 out of the 30,000 government institutions, including offices, educational institutions and hospitals, which will get connections in the first phase.
The offices will be linked to the Network Operation Centre in Kalamassery through 375 Points of Presence (POPs), which are full-fledged nodal IT infrastructure installed within the Kerala State Electricity Board substations in each area.
Hundred BPL families in each of the 140 Assembly constituencies are being identified in the first phase through the local bodies to provide free Internet.
₹1,548-crore project
The KFON project aims at providing connections to 20 lakh BPL households to ensure universal Internet access and address the problem of digital divide. The previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had declared Internet connection as a basic right when the ₹1,548-crore KFON project was launched in 2019.
https://epaper.thehindu.com/Home/MShareArticle?OrgId=GCD9T5714.1&imageview=0
No comments:
Post a Comment