Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) Internet connection scheme, implemented by the Kerala government to provide internet access to the general public, has encountered trouble after the contracted companies withdrew their agreement with the government. According to information from the company, the beneficiaries list for the internet provided by the Local bodies is not appropriate.
Earlier, during the official launch event of the KFON initiative, the Kerala government announced that it would provide free internet connections for 20 lakh families in Kerala. However, it later informed that only 14,000 households would receive it in the first phase. The company’s withdrawal occurred at a time when more than 7,000 internet connections were yet to be provided in the first phase.
On the inauguration day of the KFON project in 2023, KFON stated that they had connected 2,105 households on the first day itself. However, up to now, they have only provided 3,199 connections in total. Whereas Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that 14,000 households will be provided with KFON internet connections within the first phase of work itself.
Similarly, out of 30,438 Kerala state government offices, only 21,072 offices have KFON connections.
At the same time, several KFON connection holders have been informed of the cancellation of their KFON internet connection due to insufficient internet speed. Several government offices have alternative internet connections for emergency purposes.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government has recently issued an instruction for users to pay the bills. KFON introduced plans with internet speeds ranging from 20 Mbps to 250 Mbps. However, KFON has failed to deliver internet access at the promised speed, despite subscription costs ranging from Rs 1,794 to Rs 7,494 for three months.
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