Relief to Kerala kids who relied on treetop for internet connectivity

In a big relief to a group of children in a remote village of Kerala's Idukki district, a private service provider has established high-speed internet connectivity in the locality.

Earlier, the children in the region struggled to find stable internet for Covid-induced online classes and even went out of their way to find 'innovative' methods to find the internet.

Two sisters in the locality, Treesa and Ansiya, came out with the idea of keeping their mobile phones in a basket tied to a treetop using rope and pull the rope so that the mobile phones reach higher to get network for downloading study materials.

The plight of the students came to light last year but the mobile phone service providers including the BSNL refused to provide connectivity citing the high cost involved in laying cable in the uneven terrain.

Now, Kerala Vision, an initiative of independent Cable TV Operators in the state, has provided Fibre to the Home (FTTH) service to the region offering high-speed internet connectivity.

P K Varghese, the father of Treesa and Ansiya, told DH that now the children could now easily access internet inside their home. Kerala Vision charged the basic installation charges, modem's cost and plan tariff. The people of the region hope that in due course more service providers would establish highspeed internet connectivity in the region.

A Department of Telecommunication official, who came across DH report on the plight of the children, also ensured that the region was now getting internet connectivity.

Many tribal areas in forest regions of Kerala were also still facing difficulties in getting internet access for online education. The Kerala government is in talks with service providers exploring options of providing internet connectivity. Getting the approval of forest department for setting up towers as well as the cost and viability factors are the major hurdles.