The Hindu Business Line : Net usage in Kerala not on par with infrastructure: Study

DESPITE the availability of strong telecommunications infrastructure, which is better than the all-India average, the number of Internet users in Kerala is relatively low.

It is estimated that the number of Internet subscribers is only 0.25 million although Kerala has the distinction of being one of the most wired States in the country, according to a study by Dr Sunil Mani, Planning Commission Chair Professor in Development Economics, Centre for Development Studies.

The State has over 4,000 km of optical fibre connectivity and the number of ISPs went up from four in 2000-01 to 10 in 2003-04. However, most of the Internet connections are narrow-band and in dial-up mode.

This means that the vast potential of this infocommunication infrastructure has remained under-utilised.

The study has called upon the Government to encourage the usage of Internet by the citizens at large.

The Government should think of framing specific policies for hastening the process.

In the circumstances, the Akshaya project has provided a unique way of increasing the e-literacy of even the most ordinary citizen, the study said.

With the longest waiting list for basic telecom services historically, the revolution that took place in the provision of infrastructure has benefited Kerala immensely. The State has the highest teledensity in the country, almost on par with the metropolitan cities.

The phenomenal growth of new telephone connections, especially mobile phones, has spawned all kinds of services and has helped traders and skilled workers in the services sector.

However, this growth in telephone numbers has meant that there has been a drastic reduction in the number of public call offices (PCOs). It is estimated that more than 8,000 PCOs were closed down between 2003 and 2005.

Since most of the PCOs were run by physically challenged and woman operators, such large number of closure has deleterious consequences and this factor has the potential to have a dampening effect on the communication revolution, according to the study.

On the strength of its infrastructure, the State has come up with five e-governance initiatives. These are FRIENDS, Secretariat-based knowledge management system, Citizen Call Centre, IT@school, and Information Kerala Mission.