PM Modi to launch submarine cable connectivity for Andaman & Nicobar on Aug 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair on August 10, via video conferencing, an official release said on Friday. The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.

The new network will enable delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, at par with other parts of the country. The foundation stone for this project was laid by the Prime Minister on December 30, 2018 at Port Blair.

The submarine optical fibre cable link will deliver bandwidth of 2 x 200 Gigabits per second (Gbps) between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2 x 100 Gbps between Port Blair and the other islands. “The provision of reliable, robust, and high-speed telecom and broadband facilities in these islands will be a landmark achievement from the viewpoint of consumers, as well as for strategic and governance reasons,” the statement read.

In the islands, 4G mobile services, which were disrupted due to limited bandwidth provided via satellite, will also see major improvement.

“Enhanced telecom and broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the islands, give an impetus to the economy and raise standards of living. Better connectivity will also facilitate delivery of e-Governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education,” the statement said.

Besides small and medium trade enterprises will also benefit from opportunities in e-commerce with the new connectivity in place, and educational institutions will utilise the enhanced bandwidth for e-learning and knowledge sharing. Business Process Outsourcing services and other medium and large enterprises too also benefit from better connectivity.

An estimated 2,300 km of Submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid at an expenditure of about ₹1,224 crore, and the project has been completed well within deadline.

The connectivity project was funded by the Centre through the Universal Service Obligation Fund under the Ministry of Communications. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) executed the project while Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) was the technical consultant.