India’s PM inaugurates submarine cable linking Andaman and Nicobar Islands

A submarine optical fibre cable connecting Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India has been inaugurated.

The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat. 

The inauguration was announced earlier by the India’s prime minister Narendra Modi on social media.

“Today, 10th August is a special day for my sisters and brothers of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At 10:30 this morning, the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair will be inaugurated,” Narendra Modi wrote.

Inauguration of the submarine cable will provide high-speed broadband connectivity witn fast and reliable mobile and landline telecom services.

The cable will also boost to the local economy and enhance the delivery of e-governance, telemedicine and tele-education.

The submarine cable 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 project is funded by the Government of India through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) executed this project while Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) are the technical consultants.