What is KFON, Kerala’s scheme for internet connectivity for all households

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Last Updated08/06/2023

The Kerala government officially launched the Kerala Fibre Optical Network (KFON), one of its flagship projects.

Through KFON, Kerala, which was the first state to declare the right to internet as a basic right, aims to reduce the digital divide by ensuring high speed broadband internet access to all houses and government offices.
It is also intended to give a fillip to e-governance and accelerate Kerala’s journey towards being a knowledge-based economy.

Basically, KFON will act as an infrastructure provider.
It is an optical fibre cable network of 30,000 kms, with 375 Points-of-Presence across Kerala.
The KFON infrastructure will be shared with all service providers, including cable operators.
While KFON will do the cable work for government offices, individual beneficiaries will have to depend on private, local internet service providers.

Fiber-optic internet is a broadband connection that can reach speeds of up to 940 Megabits per second (Mbps).
Benefits:
- Low lag time.
- The technology uses fiber-optic cable, which can send data as fast as about 70% the speed of light.
- In addition, fiber-optic cables are not as susceptible to severe weather conditions as other types of traditional cables, which helps minimize outages.
- It also resists electrical interference effectively.

Fiber-optic internet is a complex technology that allows the transmission of information in the form of light rather than electricity.
Optical fibers
- Optical fibers are tiny, about 125 microns in diameter, or slightly larger than a human hair.
- Many of these fibers are bundled together to form cables (not to be confused with coaxial cables, which are made of copper).
- The optical fibers carry pulses of laser or LED light down the line, transmitting information in “binary” form, similar to the 0s and 1s used in electronics.
How is fiber different from other types of internet?
- The main difference is that fiber doesn’t utilize electric current like other types of internet connections do.
- It uses light, delivered through the fiber glass core.