The Union Cabinet today approved a proposal for improving telecom connectivity in Andaman & Nicobar Islands by connecting the union territory with Chennai via an undersea optical fibre cable at a cost of Rs.1,102.38 crore.
Currently, the only medium of providing telecom connectivity between the Mainland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands is through satellites. However, since satellite bandwidth is very costly and its availability is limited, future bandwidth requirement cannot be met solely through it.
More bandwidth“Lack of bandwidth and telecom connectivity is hampering socio-economic development of the islands. Hence, it is essential to have submarine optical fibre cable (OFC) connectivity between the mainland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands…,” an official release said. The dedicated submarine OFC will connect Mainland (Chennai) and Port Blair and five other islands — Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Havelock, Kamorta and Great Nicobar. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.1,102.38 crore, including operational expenses for 5 years. The project is likely to be completed by December 2018.
The connectivity would allow the implementation of e-governance initiatives; establishment of enterprises and e-commerce facilities in the islands. It would also allow for “support to educational institutes for knowledge-sharing and availability of job opportunities...,” it added.
