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The much-awaited ₹1,224-crore Chennai-Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) undersea Internet cable — the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) — was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
The undersea cable measuring 2,313 km has been laid between Chennai and Port Blair, and will cover seven islands of A&N Islands, other than Port Blair including Swaraj Dweep (Havlock), Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman, Kamorta, Car Nicobar and Greater Nicobar.
“I am sure our today’s effort in this decade will not only give advantage to Andaman & Nicobar and its people, but also, make a prominent place for the tourists in the world map,” Modi said at the event.
The Prime Minister said the submarine cable will help A&N in getting cheaper and better connectivity and reap the benefits of digital India, especially in improved online education, tele-medicine, banking system, online trading and tourism.
This will provide up to Port Blair 400 Gb/s speed of Internet and 200 Gb/s speed for other islands.
The work of laying undersea cable has been executed by BSNL in a record time of less than 24 months and 4G mobile services will get a big boost on these islands due to OFC connectivity.
According to Sandeep Aggarwal, Chairman (Telecom Committee), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it will give a much-needed boost to the economy and tourism sector of Andaman & Nicobar.
“With good broadband speed and more robust telecom network, Andaman & Nicobar will become a destination for investment for companies besides giving fillip to Prime Minister’s Digital India initiative,” he said.
Airtel launch
With the commissioning of the fibre link, Airtel has also become the first mobile operator to launch ‘Ultra-Fast 4G’ services in Andaman & Nicobar.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel, said, “The new fibre link marks a major milestone in India’s digital transformation journey as this critical infrastructure reaches the strategic archipelago. The fibre link will be a game changer for the region and unlock the true potential of 4G and even 5G in future for customers.”
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