Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the historical Submarine Optical Fibre Cable [OFC] that connects Chennai and Port Blair cities on Monday. This cable ensures high-speed broadband connectivity to the people residing in the Union Territory regions. It’s a prestigious project that has been launched today. On 30th December 2018, Modi laid the foundation for this 2312 kilometer project.
After inaugurating the undersea optical fiber cable, Modi said, ‘From Chennai to Port Blair, Port Blair to Little Andaman and Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep, this service has started in large part of Andaman Nicobar from today.’ He further added, ‘The 2,312-km cable will not just boost digital connectivity of the Andaman Islands with the mainland but also boost tourism.’
As per the report, this long-distance cable connects different cities that include Port Blair, Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat. During the event, PM Modi pointed out that it’s the nation’s responsibility to render contemporary telecom connectivity to the people residing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
It is expected that this Submarine OFC will enhance the mobile and landline telecom services to the customers in the islands. Besides these, the cable probably improves the broadband speed by about 10 times faster than the existing speeds in the islands. Through this exclusive project, it becomes easy to develop various sectors in the islands. This project brings more opportunities to the job seeks in various fields like tourism, e-commerce, business, and more. It also helps in accessing digital education as it renders high-speed internet connectivity in the union territory.
The video inauguration event was done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He called it a ‘big day’ for the union territory. Modi said, ‘An early independence day gift to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.’ The minister said that this island will soon turn out to become the most popular tourist destination spot in India. During the event, Modi mentioned that a pandemic like Coronavirus couldn’t stop our speed. As a result, the work has been wrapped up before the expected time. Till now, the people in Andaman and Nicobar Islands have faced a lot of call drop issues and low connectivity speeds. It has been noted that through this submarine OFC cable, about 12 islands will gain the utmost benefits from now onwards.
The Prime Minister lauded the quality work done by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited officials. It’s a huge project that has been finished on time at Rs. 1224 Crores. Modi appreciated the good work of BSNL and said, ‘Laying 2,300 km cable undersea and that too, before schedule, while also maintaining the quality of the cable is a commendable job. This is not an easy project.’
In the Andaman and Nicobar islands, there are almost 572 islands. Out of the total islands, only 36 islands are occupied by the people. All the people residing in the 36 islands will be highly benefitted through this project. Prime Minister Modi said, ‘In 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, high-impact projects are being expanded. A major issue of mobile and internet connectivity has been solved today, and we’re working towards solving road, air, and water connectivity. Better internet connectivity is one of the first needs of any tourism hub. This problem has now been solved.’
As per the data received from the official sources, the people residing at Port Blair will be able to access the internet at a speed of about 400Gbps. The people in other islands can access the internet at a speed of 200 Gigabytes per second. Modi further highlighted, ‘Tourists will now be in no rush to return, and thus, they will enjoy the sea-food and the islands. This will help tourism and employment in the region.’ He said that he dedicates the project to the country. This project is a proof of the Indian Government’s ‘commitment to ease of living’, said PM Modi.
According to the Act-East Policy, Andaman and Nicobar have a major role for India in maintaining powerful bonding with East Asian countries and other countries linked with the sea. PM Modi also emphasized that the strong bonding of India with other countries will enhance to greater heights. Meanwhile, the Indian Government has been currently working on another biggest project i.e., Rs. 10000 Crore Trans-shipment port project. He said that this project probably gets finished in the next 4 to 5 years.
Currently, many countries have been striving hard to find out the possibilities of sea-weed farming. Andaman and Nicobar become a substantial element for the blue economy. Fisheries, Sea-weed farming, and aquaculture come under a significant segment of the blue economy. With the development of contemporary infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, it turns out to become a vital factor for the blue economy, said the PM Modi.