Thiruvananthapuram: Free internet connections would be provided to 500 households in the below-poverty line (BPL) category in each of the 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala under the first phase of the ambitious Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project which aims to eliminate the digital divide.
"One house can use 1.5 GB of data at 10-15 MBPS speed every day," said an official.
A list of beneficiaries would be collected from the respective local bodies and handed over to the cable operators and internet service providers in the area for arranging the connections, he said.
"Regional internet service providers utilizing K-FON will provide connection to the BPL families," the official explained.
Tenders would soon be invited to identify the internet service provider for each district, he added.
Aim of K-FON
A project announced in the state budget, K-FON aims to fulfill Kerala’s goal of making the internet a basic right of every citizen. Under the project, internet would be made available free of cost to 20 lakh BPL families in the state and at low rates for others.
An elaborate cable network along electricity poles across the state would provide the connectivity. "The total length of the cables will be 2,600 km, of which 2,045 km is already in place," said the K-FON official.
