Kerala KFON Scheme:- One of its main projects Kerala Fiber Optical Network Scheme (KFON), planned during the first term of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was formally launched by the Kerala government on Monday, June 5. Kerala, the first state to recognize the right to internet as a fundamental right, is expected to shut down. Bridging the digital divide by providing high-speed broadband Internet access to every home and government building through KFON. It also aims to enhance e-governance and accelerate Kerala’s transition to a knowledge-based economy. Read below to check detailed information related to Kerala KFON Scheme.
About Kerala KFON Scheme 2023
KFON will act as infrastructure provider. It has a 30,000 km long optical fiber cable network with 375 points-of-presence spread across Kerala. Cable operators and other service providers will have access to the KFON infrastructure. Cable work for government offices will be carried by KFON, but individual receivers will have to rely on private, local Internet service providers. Kerala Vision Broadband Internet is offered by the cable TV provider’s plan services in different regions. Private service providers also benefit from KFON’s infrastructure because they can use its cable network. Local ISPs, TSPs, and cable TV providers provide Internet connectivity to homes.
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Details of Kerala Fiber Optical Network Scheme
| Name of the scheme | Kerala KFON Scheme |
| full name | Kerala Fiber Optical Network (KFON) |
| Presented by | Kerala Govt |
| introduced to | Monday, June 5 2023 |
| State | Kerala |
| Benefits | High speed broadband internet access to every home and government building |
| Official website | https://kfon.kerala.gov.in/ |
KFON Scheme Objective
The CPI(M) government in Kerala is promoting KFon as part of an alternative left development model. KFON is used to demonstrate the CPI(M)’s commitment to the public sector in a telecom industry dominated by private businesses. According to the government, incumbent telcos have only modest infrastructure in rural areas and their wireless connectivity infrastructure offers little capacity. Private telcos are not keen to improve broadband infrastructure in rural areas as there are less commercial opportunities.
Also, Kerala State Wide Area Network (KSWAN), the state’s current information infrastructure that connects government offices, can only connect 3,800 buildings. For this reason, the government decided to create KFON in 2017 for reliable, interoperable, secure and efficient service delivery.
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Kerala KFON Scheme Coverage
The government plans to connect 14,000 BPL households and 30,000 government offices in the state in the first phase of Kephone. Till June 5, 17,412 government buildings and 2,105 houses have been installed with connectivity and a cable network to connect 9,000 houses. KFON offers internet speeds ranging from 10 mbps to 10 Gbps. Mobile phone calls are also expected to be of high quality. KFON will accelerate the transition to 4G and 5G by connecting with mobile towers in Kerala.
Shareholders of Kerala Fiber Optical Network Scheme
Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Kerala State IIT Infrastructure Limited are partners in the Rs 1,611 crore Kfone project. The project was announced in 2017, but work did not begin until 2019, with the intention of completion in 2021. A group of companies led by Central PSU Bharat Electronics Limited took up the project. PricewaterhouseCoopers is the consultant for the project. While KSEBL will hold the infrastructure assets, Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) will be in charge of project operations and maintenance. The system integrator for the KFON project is Bharat Electronics (BEL).
BEL has undertaken the tasks of laying optical fiber cable network, establishing network point of presence locations and providing connectivity to government institutions. For a period of seven years, BEL will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the project. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), the state government body responsible for financing infrastructure development projects, provided all the financing for the project.
Services provided by Kerala KFON Scheme
- KFON aims to build an information highway (core network infrastructure) with open access to all service providers and a reliable, secure and scalable intranet connecting all government agencies and educational institutions.
- Its primary offerings include connectivity to government buildings, dark fiber leasing, internet leased lines, fiber to the home, Wi-Fi hotspots, pooling of assets under network operations centers, over-the-top (OTT) and cloud hosting.
- The Central Department of Telecommunications has granted Infrastructure Provider (Category 1) and Internet Service Provider (Category B) licenses to KFON.
- In order to build an optic fiber network, KFON was able to acquire dark fiber fiber optic lines, towers, duct space, networks and other necessary infrastructure thanks to the IP license.
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Kerala KFON scheme benefits the underprivileged
One of Kephone’s key selling points is that the government plans to provide Internet access to 20 lakh families living in poverty. In the initial phase, 14,000 BPL households will get free high-speed internet connections. 100 BPL Families will be selected for this program in each of the state’s 140 assembly districts.
Steps to Register Kerala KFON Scheme Portal
To register on the portal, the user needs to follow the steps given below:
- First, go to Official website of KFON ie, https://kfon.kerala.gov.in/
- The homepage of the website will open on the screen.
- Click on Click here to register Link
- A new page will open on the screen
- Now, under the Apply Online option, three options will be available, namely,
- Now, select one of the options as required
- The registration form will open on your screen
- Now, fill the form with all the required details like name, mobile number, email id, address, pin code etc.
- After that, click on submit button to complete the registration process
Kerala Fiber Optical Network Contact details
For more information or any query or complaint related to Kerala KFON Scheme, feel free to contact on the details given below:
Address: Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited, 1st Floor, Sanketika, PF Road, Vrindavan Gardens, Pattam PO, Thiruvananthapuram- 695004
E-mail ID: [email protected]
phone number: 0471-2969640, 4068006,