From the end of next academic year, around 30 lakh students in Kerala will be able to access internet connectivity at a reasonable rate in their homes, thanks to the state government. Talks have been going on to connect the internet with the help of local cable television operators.
According to the Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac, the plan is in its preliminary stage. "The facility of the local cable networks would be utilised for the purpose and it will be completed by the end of the next academic year. The state government has formed a company to make sure that students in every corner of the state avail this facility," he says.
Kerala-Fiber Optic Network (K-FON) was constituted for the purpose, under a joint venture of Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd (KSITIL) and Kerala State Electricity Board(KSEB). "The fund has been already allocated to the company. It will make the arrangements to provide internet connection. The government has allocated Rs 1300 crore for the purpose through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board(KIIFB)," says Isaac."The rate of internet usage has not been decided. We plan to provide the facility in the lowest price. At the same time, we will allot free internet connectivity to the students who belong to poor families," he adds.
The KSEB has already established optical fibre cable network through its low tension electric lines and has connected it with substations and major centres of the KSEB. Only the linking of cables with local cable TV operators remains to complete the project, officials said. The state government constituted K-FON to provide internet to all citizens at cheaper rates and made financial allotment in the budget of 2017-18. All the government schools in the state are already connected with each other via WAN. "Local cable networks are very active in the state and they're covering the majority of the areas. So we plan to distribute the internet through the local cable. The discussion is progressing with the cable operators to allot net connection to the homes of students," a KSEB official said.
