The Union Department of Telecommunications on Thursday provided approval for Infrastructure Provider (IP) category 1 licence to the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON). According to a press release from the Chief Minister's Office, the Internet Service Provider license is also expected to be approved soon, after which KFON can start activating connections to the public as well as government offices.
The IP category 1 licence gives KFON the rights to acquire fibre optic lines (dark fibre), towers, duct space, network and other infrastructure facilities required for the setting up of an optic fibre network. It also has the right to lease out, rent out or sell these equipment to other providers.
Santhosh Babu, Managing Director, KFON told The Hindu that the company will be able to provide internet to consumers once it gets the ISP licence too, which is expected within two weeks. But, KFON will be taking a complementary approach, using the strength of private providers in areas where they are already present, and focus more on providing internet access to remote areas which are still not connected.
KFON had last month shortlisted six internet service providers to provide internet connection to 14,000 Below Poverty Line (BPL) families and 30,000 government offices in Kerala. The State government will be footing this bill as part of its project to provide free internet connections to BPL families.
A total of 100 BPL families in each of the State's 140 Assembly constituencies are being identified in the first phase through the respective local bodies to provide the free internet connection. The KFON project aims at providing connections to 20 lakh BPL households in the State in a bid 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. The government will be subsidising the internet cost for BPL families. Internet services at affordable rates to the general public will also be made available in the second phase onwards.
