Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday launched Kerala Fiber Optic Network (K-FON), a government-owned broadband service provider, which aims at universal internet access at affordable cost.
In its initial phase, K-FON will offer internet services to 14,000 financially backward households and 30,000 government offices.
K-FON’s commercial website and mobile app were also launched during the event.
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Based on a list submitted by local self-governing bodies, the project will initially provide internet access to 100 houses in each legislative assembly constituency of the state.
K-FON has installed IT infrastructure capable of setting up 400,000 internet connections across the state. Consumers can access internet services at a speed starting at 20 mbps and avail connections of higher speed based on individual requirements.
At present, K-FON has been installed in 26,492 government offices, of which 17,354 have live internet access. According to officials, internet connectivity will be made available to all government offices by the end of June as per the provided list.
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As of now K-FON has more than 1,000 household subscribers and installation of cables for over 7,000 connections has been completed.
On completion of the initial phase of the project by August 2023, the project will be expanded to setting up commercial connections. It is estimated that 2,50,000 commercial connections will be provided in the first year, which could facilitate the profitability of the project.