Thiruvananthapuram: The state government-owned Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project will be launched on June 5.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday that the project will provide free internet to the poor and connectivity at affordable rates to others.

Pinarayi has projected K-FON as a service to overcome the 'digital divide' in society.

He said the service will be an alternative to corporate powers in the telecom sector.

"At present, 18,000 government offices are equipped with K-FON," Pinarayi said.

Pinarayi said the infrastructure facilities to provide internet to 7,000 houses have been readied. “The connections have been given to 748 houses,” he said.

Kerala was the first state to declare the internet as a basic right of the citizens. A consortium of public-sector companies including Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is executing the project.