Internet connection at home was never in the scheme of things for Saritha and her family from Edava in Thiruvananthapuram district. Even when her daughter Meera began her degree studies, she depended mostly on mobile Internet for her academic needs, as a regular connection was unaffordable. But, when the Kerala government announced the launch of the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) with an aim to provide free Internet connections to 20 lakh below the poverty line (BPL) households, the family decided to apply for one at the panchayat office.
“A small welding workshop attached to the home is our source of income. When we heard about KFON, we submitted the application with a copy of the BPL card around a year ago. Last week, they arrived with the modem and we arranged a laptop. Now, we have begun getting the connection at a good speed. It will be really helpful for my daughter for her studies,” says Saritha.
Naisa Fathima from Pallikkal, another KFON beneficiary, who is preparing for Civil Services examination, also says this is the first Internet connection at home. Niranjan, a degree student from Kovalam, says his family used to depend upon a paid broadband connection, but with KFON’s arrival, they no longer need that connection.
7,000 families till now
They are all part of the 7,000 families who have got Internet connections through KFON till now, ahead of the official launch by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the R. Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall of the Assembly on Monday. A total of 14,000 households, with 100 houses in each of the 140 Assembly constituencies, will get connections in the first phase. The KFON’s wide network has reached remote locations, including tribal hamlets in Wayanad and elsewhere, which had remained out of the information superhighway.
The previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had declared Internet connection a basic right when the ₹1,548-crore KFON project was launched in 2019. The government will provide Kerala Vision, the service provider that was chosen from among six contenders, ₹124 per connection a month. In addition, KFON has been successfully installed in 26,492 government offices, of which 17,354 have live Internet access. This includes government schools, many of which have been depending on more expensive connections till now.
Extended access
The availability of the Internet in places where it was hitherto hard to access is being projected as one of the achievements of KFON with the possible added advantages to education, skill development, and business opportunities. The government has also begun a digital literacy campaign at the grassroots through various local bodies to ensure that everyone is equipped to access basic services through the Internet.
