After literacy, Kerala aims at becoming 100% digital

THIRUVANTHAPURAM: After achieving the distinction of being the first 100 per cent literate state in the country, the `God's Own Country' is gearing to grab another milestone, a 100 per cent `Digital Kerala'.

In this regard, the Government of Kerala, VSNL and BSNL have come together in a MoU promoting IT in Kerala to create a ‘Digital Kerala’. While the Government of Kerala was represented by its IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan, BSNL was represented by its Chief General Manager for Kerala circle, PP Ramachandran and VSNL by its Senior, General Manager AS Menon.

In his statement, the Kerala Chief Minister AK Antony has said, "For the benefits of IT to be fully exploited in our state, we believe that two factors are essential - low cost availability of communication infrastructure as well as an assurance of quality of services at all times."

The MoU envisages the formation of a State Information Infrastructure (SII) as a backbone to the IT service in the state to meet the communication needs of prospective consumers. Through the SII, the state proposes to move towards a benchmark regime of assured service availability and Quality of Service (QoS) of communication.

The MoU seeks to consolidate the networking infrastructure existing in the state of Kerala. It has the country’s largest degree of telecommunication penetration and boasts of 100 per cent digital telephone exchanges, of which 98 per cent are networked through Optical Fibre Cables (OFC). With 100 percent literacy and leading socio- economic development indicators, the state is one of BSNL’s key markets, and this alliance further strengthens the telecommunication infrastructures in the state.

Kochi, one of the two gateways in the country having submarine cable landing facilities, handles more than two-thirds of the nations data communication traffic, supporting landing of two submarine cables viz SEA-ME-WE-3 and SAFE. The 15 GBPS bandwidth support offered at Kochi makes bandwidth sourcing from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram economically beneficial for subscribers as opposed to other gateways. Thus VSNL’s already significant investment in infrastructure in the state supported by the geographical advantages make Kerala a key strength in VSNL’s nationwide operations.

This is a significant advantage for bandwidth intensive IT enabled services such as Business Process Outsourcing, Call Centres and Multimedia Digital Content Developing Centres. The government has also identified key consumer groups within the state and will account for individual needs while structuring IT services, namely, citizens, industry, academic bodies and the Government.

As envisaged by the MoU, the Government of Kerala will ensure that all necessary support be offered to BSNL and VSNL for their activities in this regard. An expert working group on SII will be set up.