KOCHI: Drumroll, please! The budget has envisioned to provide internet access free to around 20 lakh poor families. The ‘Digital Kerala’ dream got a jumpstart with the proposed rollout of Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON). Finance Minister Thomas Isaac made the ambitious announcement in his budget speech which hogged the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
If all goes well, the K-FON project is slated go live by October 2018, making internet access a basic right of the citizens. For this, new optic fibre-cables will be laid parallel to the KSEB electric power network to provide internet to all.
But before going overboard with the hurrahs, a peep into the past would make it amply clear implementation is the lynchpin which decides whether such lionised projects sink or swim.
The Air Kerala and Seaplane projects are cases in point. So, the Rs 1000 crore capital investment for K-FON through KIIFB will be under continuous scrutiny. Especially, with Kerala making great strides in terms of mobile phone penetration.
“The fine print of the project remains elusive,” G Muraleedharan, BSNL-Ernakulam principal general manager told ‘Express’.
To provide internet connections, K-FON will have to collaborate with the existing service providers. But, the government has not approached us, he said.
The other option is to launch a government-owned company and procure a licence to provide internet connections.
The state is yet to zero in on a favourable route, Muraleedharan said. “If it becomes a reality, the KFON project will be a major step forward for Kerala’s IT development,” said Rajan S Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association.
Almost all government transactions will become IT-based. The state government needs to set up a public-private partnership to implement the project, he said. “For laying the fibre optic network, the state can collaborate with the Central Government.
That will hasten the implementation of the project,” Rajan said. If the government wants to ink a deal with the existing telecom players, it is advised they go for an open tender process, he said. “K-FON is definitely going to be a game changer in the state. If we are approached, we will be happy to associate with the project,” said Vinu Verghese, chief operating officer - Kerala, Idea Cellular.