THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has constituted an expert committee to expedite the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) project. The committee comprising professors and officials of eminent institutions will manage the tendering process as well as give technical, financial and operational advice on the project. It aims at providing high speed connectivity to over 30,000 government educational institutions and offices, basic internet service to all citizens and free internet connectivity to 20 lakh families in below the poverty line category. The target is to commission the project within 18 months of awarding the work.
IT secretary M. Sivasankar will be the convenor of the committee. Rekha Jain and Sebastian Morris, professors of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and professor Lilly Kutty of National Institute of Technology, Calicut, are among the other members. The officials of Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring cell, National Informatic Centre, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Kerala State IT Mission, Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited and Kerala State Electricity Board are the other members.
The main responsibilities of the committee include managing the bidding process and providing technical, financial and operational advices to the Special Purpose Vehicle to be formed for the KFON project. The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board recently had approved the detailed project report of Rs. 1028 crore to the KFON project. The tendering process will begin soon.
