Submarine optical fibre facility will bring lot of benefits to Andaman: PM Modi
- Modi also added that 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar have been chosen for the expansion of high impact projects
- PM Modi is set to inaugurate the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair on August 10 through video conferencing
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said interacted with Bhartiya Janata Party workers of Andaman and Nicobar Islands via video conferencing.
During his interaction, PM Modi said he was confident that high-speed broadband connectivity, which is scheduled to be launched tomorrow, will help people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands to have a virtual connect with other parts of the country.
"Everyone will be able to avail the benefits of all kinds of online services, amid pandemic. Andaman and Nicobar Islands will now face no problem in getting virtually connected to outside world," PM Modi said.
Modi also added that 12 islands of Andaman and Nicobar have been chosen for the expansion of high impact projects.
"India is fortunate that we have various things in different areas which can be developed. In Andaman & Nicobar we are going to lay emphasis on industries related to sea-food, organic products & coconut-based products," he said during the virtual interaction.
PM Modi is set to inaugurate the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair on August 10 through video conferencing.
According to a release by Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.
This connectivity will enable the delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on par with other parts of India, it said.
The foundation stone for this project was laid by the Prime Minister on December 30, 2018 at Port Blair.
"Once inaugurated, the submarine OFC link 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 release said.
It said provision of reliable, robust, and high-speed telecom and broadband facilities in these Islands will be a landmark achievement from the viewpoint of consumers, as well as for strategic and governance reasons.
"4G mobile services, which were constrained due to limited backhaul bandwidth provided via satellite will also see a major improvement," it said.
The release said enhanced telecom and broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the islands, give an impetus to the economy and raise standards of living.
It said better connectivity will also facilitate the delivery of e-governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education, small enterprises will benefit from opportunities in e-commerce, while educational institutions will utilize the enhanced availability of bandwidth for e-learning and knowledge sharing.
Business Process Outsourcing services and other medium and large enterprises will also be able to reap the benefits of better connectivity.
The project is funded by the central government through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Ministry of Communications.
The release said that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) executed this project while Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) are the technical consultants.
About 2,300 km of submarine OFC cable has been laid at a cost of about ₹1,224 crore and the project has been completed in time, it said.
With inputs from agencies
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Business NewsNewsIndiaSubmarine optical fibre facility will bring lot of benefits to Andaman: PM Modi
First Published:9 Aug 2020, 05:35 PM IST
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