Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Says Kerala Becomes First State To Have Own Internet Service

Expansion

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made a big announcement on Thursday. He said that Kerala has now become the first and only state in the country to have its own internet service. He made this announcement after receiving the Internet Service Provider (ISP) license from the Department of Telecommunications.

The announcement comes in the wake of Kerala Fiber Optic Network Limited, an ambitious IT project of the government to make internet accessible to all in the state. Along with this, the CM said that the KFON project, which was created to eliminate the digital divide in the society, can start its operation now. He also made a tweet about it.

In the tweet, he said that Kerala has become the only state in the country with its internet service. Kerala Fiber Optic Network Limited has received ISP license from Indian Department of Telecommunications. Now we can provide internet as a basic right to our people under the prestigious KFON project.

Significantly, the KFON scheme is envisaged to provide free internet to BPL families and 30,000 government offices. The previous Left government had declared internet connection as a fundamental right in 2019. The project was launched in 2017 by the Pinarayi Vijayan government and was named as Kerala Optical Fiber Network (K-FON). Its cost is Rs 1,548 crore.