The entire Andaman and Nicobar Islands is set to get high-speed internet connectivity by June 2020. The ambitious project of laying off over 2,300 km of undersea internet cable between Chennai and Andaman and Nicobar Islands has entered a key phase. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has flagged off a ship at Chennai. This ship will start the work of laying undersea Internet cable between Chennai and Andaman and the Nicobar Islands. The project is funded by the Department of Telecom and BSNL is overseeing the implementation part.
The work of laying undersea internet cable between Chennai and Port Blair, which is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is scheduled to be completed by June 2020, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has said.
Once the work of laying undersea Internet cable is completed, the digital connectivity between the Indian mainland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands will get a major boost! This type of undersea communications cable is laid on the seabed. This helps transmit telecommunication from land-based stations.
Digital India boost for Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The direct internet communication link will help equip Andaman & Nicobar Islands with appropriate internet bandwidth. Once the project is completed, e-Governance initiatives, enterprises and e-commerce facilities will be implemented without much hassle. The successful completion of the project will also provide support to academic institutes for knowledge sharing, create employment opportunities and fulfil the vision of Digital India, Modi government has said.
Given the geographical positioning of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, having a robust telecommunication system and presence of internet connectivity is absolutely crucial from a strategic point of view as well as the socio-economic development of the islands, the Centre said.
So far, the telecom connectivity between Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Mainland is heavily dependent on satellite links. There are two issues with satellites — one is the limited bandwidth and secondly, the high-cost. Optical Fibre Cable is a more reliable and cost-effective option and will augur well for the picturesque Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Central government said.