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Telecommunications INFRASTRUCTURE

5.168 Telecommunication is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and
modernisation of the economy. The telecommunication services in India have improved significantly
since independence. Kerala Telecom circles serves the whole of Kerala State, the Union Territory of

Lakshadweep and part of Union Territory of Puducherry (Mahe). The circle has 11 major SSAs and

one minor SSA of Lakshadweep. The status of telecom sector in Kerala is given in Box 5.11

Box 5.11
Status of Telecom Sector in Kerala as on 31.03.2014

• No. of Telephone Exchanges 1266
• Equipped Capacity 9920944
• Working Connections 10661427
• Average No. of Telephone per Sq.Km 274
• Telephone Density 334 per 000 population
• Telephone density (Rural) 230 per 000 population
• Telephone density (Urban) 626 per 000 population
• Market share of BSNL in Kerala 32.64

5.169 All the Panchayats and all the villages in the Circle have been provided with public telephones.
There is wide network of over 46775 Public Telephones for easy access to the average public and
the same has become very popular among the people. The State has a modern telecom network
spanning its length and breadth and comprises of state-of-the-art Digital switches interconnected by
reliable Optical Fibre/Microwaves/Satellite media. The State is served by 1266 automatic exchanges
all of which are Digital electronic.

5.170 BSNL has launched WIMAX (Wireless Broadband Service) service with mobility for the
first time in the State with 450 towers covering all the SSA Head Quarters. In the Code Division
Multiple Access (CDMA) front, BSNL Kerala has already implemented all India roaming facility and
Evolution Data Optimal (EVDO) services offering High Speed Internet Access at affordable rates.
The Public Grievance Cell is working at Circle level with ‘12727’ and District level with ‘12728’ other
than computerised ‘198’ fault repair services. Call Centre with ‘1500’ is fully functioning for Kerala.
Call Centre for mobile service is ‘9447024365’. Internet helpline is also working at 12678 for Kerala
Circle. More details are available in the Appendix 5.58.

Section 5
Information Technology

5.171 Kerala shall thrive to be the most preferred destination for investment/businesses in Information
Technology and adopt focussed strategies to present to the world the various opportunities.
Government of Kerala shall support industries in the sector by way of single window clearance,
developing “Kerala IT” brand and incentivising the investors. The vision of the State’s IT Policy
2012 is to Plan, develop and market the state as the most preferred IT/ITES investment/business
destination in India and to utilize ICT for the effective, transparent and efficient delivery of services to
the citizens seamlessly through an integrated e-governance framework.

5.172 E-governance has become an integral part of any economy, which strives to achieve
transparency, reliability, and affordability in its services. Kerala has been a forerunner in e-governance
and it needs to use its resources to exploit fully this new tool for improving governance. Though

Economic Review 2014