Indian PM Narendra Modi inaugurates 2,313km optical cable deployment by state-owned telco BSNL, bringing better connectivity to remote islands.

Gagandeep Kaur, Contributing Editor

August 10, 2020

3 Min Read
Undersea cable brings optical fiber to India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands

A 2,313km undersea cable bringing optical fiber-based connectivity (OFC) to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago has been inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Figure 1: Splendid isolation: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a remote archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian Ocean. (Source: tatonomusic on Unsplash) Splendid isolation: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a remote archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, in the Indian Ocean. (Source: tatonomusic on Unsplash)

State-owned telco BSNL completed the deployment at a cost of INR12.24 million (US$163.37 million) in just two years.

The project was financed by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) being the technical consultant.

Part of the Department of Telecommunications, the USOF was formed to provide affordable connectivity in remote and yet-to-be-connected areas in the country.

Ties that bind
The cable connects Chennai, on India's mainland, to Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It will deliver 400 Gbit/s speed in Port Blair and 200 Gbit/s on nearby islands, according to the press release issued by the government.

Port Blair is now connected to the islands of Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island and Rangat.

Want to know more about optical? Check out our dedicated optical channel here on Light Reading.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal, one of the country's most remote regions. The high-speed connectivity will help the region take advantage of several government initiatives, as well as boost tourism.

The deployment should also improve the backhaul bandwidth for 4G services. As of now these are provided using satellite.

Join the dots
While BSNL, Airtel and Vodafone Idea provide connectivity, Airtel is the sole provider of 4G services on the islands.

It's part of a government strategy to improve trade and cooperation with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Under the Act-East policy, the role of Andaman and Nicobar in India's strong relations with East Asian countries and other countries connected to the sea is very high and is going to increase," said Prime Minister Modi.

The new high-speed link will open doors to online education, online banking and e-health, among others. It will also help small and medium enterprises in the region, making new markets and opportunities finally accessible.

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— Gagandeep Kaur, contributing editor, special to Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Gagandeep Kaur

Contributing Editor

With more than a decade of experience, Gagandeep Kaur Sodhi has worked for the most prominent Indian communications industry publications including Dataquest, Business Standard, The Times of India, and Voice&Data, as well as for Light Reading. Delhi-based Kaur, who has knowledge of and covers a broad range of telecom industry developments, regularly interacts with the senior management of companies in India's telecom sector and has been directly responsible for delegate and speaker acquisition for prominent events such as Mobile Broadband Summit, 4G World India, and Next Generation Packet Transport Network.

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