Lack of permission from railways, forest departments, NH extension delay first phase of K-FON | So Good News

Kannur: Kerala Fiber Optic Network (K-FON) continues to face setbacks due to financial constraints and technical issues. The first phase of the K-FON project, which aims to provide faster and more reliable data connectivity to 30,000 government institutions and 20 lakh homes, is unlikely to be completed before December.

K-FON services are functional in 8,500 public offices, and the goal was to bring the services to 15,000 more offices by November and 28,000 by the end of the year. However, the development of the National Road, delays in obtaining permission from the railway and restrictions on laying cables in forest areas delayed the project.

Despite concerns, a senior government official said they would meet those targets on time.

K-FON cables are pulled through the electric poles on National Highways. Due to the extension of the NH, several electric poles had to be moved. As a result, the authorities were forced to reinstall them.

In addition, the cable also runs through forest areas. Here, machines that install cables cannot be used due to mobility problems. Furthermore, the delay in receiving permission from the railways has restricted the authorities from installing cables on railway land.