Fake: Kerala has not banned Reliance Jio Internet

New Delhi, Dec 02: Earlier this week, the social media was abuzz with a fake news that the farmers had burnt down a Reliance Jio mobile tower in Punjab. It turned out that an old image of a tower burning in Dehradun was shared and was linked to the ongoing farmer protests.

Amidst this, there is now a claim that Kerala has banned Jio internet services in the state. One user said that a fitting reply has been given to PM Modi and Mukesh Ambani by the communist government in Kerala. Jio internet service will be shut in Kerala and the government's network, Kerala Fibre Net at half the price that Jio is offering will be offered to the people.

This claim is fake and the Kerala government has not banned Jio and neither has it started its own internet service. Had Kerala banned Jio, it would sure made headlines. OneIndia searched the internet to find something linked to this, but no searches threw up.

In fact, the Kerala government plans to provide free internet services to government institutions and 20 lakh families living below the poverty line under the Kerala Fibre Optic Network. The government plans on partnering with Reliance Jio, BSNL and Airtel to provide this service.

If one goes by the rules, then state government cannot ban any telecom network and every service provider has equal rights to operate in any state. Hence the viral claim that Kerala has banned Reliance Jio Internet in the state is fake.