PM Modi inaugurates 2,300-km long submarine OFC connecting Chennai, Port Blair

The foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Modi on 30th December 2018 at Port Blair

credit : LiveMint

New Delhi : PM Modi inaugurates submarine optical fibre cable connecting Chennai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the submarine optical fibre cable connecting Chennai and Port Blair, via video conferencing.

Earlier, the Prime Minister had said that inauguration of the submarine Optical Fibre Cable in Andaman and Nicobar Islands will ensure high-speed broadband connectivity, fast mobile and landline telecom services and will give a big boost to the local economy.

The foundation stone for this project was laid by Prime Minister Modi on 30th December 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.

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.

"4G mobile services, which were constrained due to limited backhaul bandwidth provided via satellite will also see a major improvement," it said.

Here are the highlights of the PM’s address on the occasion:

- I am hopeful that through our efforts today, not only will the islands and its residents get new facilities in the coming decade but it will also establish Andaman and Nicobar on the world tourist map in a major way.

- There is a proposal to build a transshipment port in Great Nicobar at an estimated cost of ₹10,000 crore. Efforts are on to have the first phase of this project operational in the next 4-5 years. Once it is ready, big ships will be able to dock here.

- The modern infrastructure that is being developed in Andaman Nicobar is a key aspect for blue economy. A major part of blue economy is fisheries, aqua culture and sea-weed farming. Several countries are exploring the possibilities of sea-weed farming today.

What do you think about it? Comment down below.