Varun Ganapaty and his friends — who walk around 12-km daily between Rajamalai in Kerala’s Idukki district and Eravikulam National Park — just to avail of 3G connectivity for their online classes will now be spared of the long commute. The fibre has reached their habitation at last, thanks to a gesture from a benevolent patron.

Network provider BSNL has provided the required 3G connectivity in the Nayamakkad estate, Rajamalai division, after the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Ltd (KDHP), employer of the parents of Ganapati and others, intervened in the matter. BusinessLine had on June 3 reported the plight of these students, both boys and girls, numbering around 50, who would regularly travel the long distance and spend around five to six hours in Eravikulam National Park just to use 3G connectivity. They have been doing this for around a year after the Covid pandemic hindered their off-line classes.

 

Better bandwidth

PN Purushothaman, Divisional Engineer, BSNL (Mobile Service)-Idukki, told BusinessLine that the KDHP has given a single pair of their optical fibre cable on which the telecom operator would extend 3G services with better bandwidth in a short time. “We have checked the site and found that download speeds of 70 GB can be easily provided. This can be raised to 100 GB once the issues connected with the backup are resolved.” Earlier, the prevailing satellite link allowed only low bandwidth in the area.

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“We are also planning to extend the fibre to more places in the area such as Thenmala, Gundumala, Mettap, old Devikulam with the support of KDHP to ensure a hassle-free experience in 3G services”, Purushothaman said.

Varun Ganapaty called this correspondent from Rajamalai to share his joy after receiving the connectivity based on the report published in these columns. “3G should help us to attend the online classes from our homes”. However, he wished he had backup power as power disruption was common in the area.

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