Kerala: Six months since launch, not even one-third of free K-FON connections provided to poor
As per reports, the economically and socially disadvantaged have not received even one-third of the free internet connections provided by the K-FON announced in the first phase by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
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FollowThiruvananthapuram: The K-FON free internet connection has not made much progress six months after it opened. The economically and socially disadvantaged have not received even one-third of the free connections announced in the first phase, as the Chief Minister himself acknowledges. The KIIFB loan repayment adds to the state's already severe financial problems, on top of the everyday operational costs.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON), a project owned by the state government on June 5. The LDF government considered it to be their dream project promising to provide free broadband connections to 14,000 economically disadvantaged families in Kerala as well as internet connectivity to an estimated 30,000 government workplaces in the state as part of the initial phase. However, the government has failed to hit the target.
While 2,105 households received connection at the time of inauguration, only 3,715 households are using the free connection after seven months. The number of offices that were supposed to get the connection was 17,412 seven months ago, however, the connection has reached only 18,063 as per the figure given by the Chief Minister the other day. Moreover, the government has not provided accurate information on 14000 houses till now.
If the annual maintenance fee is set aside, the K-FON project will cost Rs 1168 crore. 70 percent of the amount is from the KIIFB Fund. Rs 100 crores per annum has to be repaid with interest. K-FON has a huge financial burden including office expenses and KSEB rent of Rs 30 crores per month. Government assistance is not available on time. Revenue growth methods, including commercial tie-ups, are not as fast as expected.
The scheme, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, will offer reasonable access to others and free internet to the poor. CM Vijayan envisioned K-FON as a tool to close the "digital divide" in society.
The state government launched the K-FON programme to prevent private cable networks and mobile service providers from taking advantage of it. The Chief Minister had emphasised that the K-FON initiative, which the LDF government planned to implement through the Department of Electricity and IT, will aid in closing the social digital divide.
