WCA November 2020

India Insight India

Insight

Taking fibre to the Indian islands

A 2,313km undersea cable to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago has been launched by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. The Indian state-owned telecommunications company BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd) completed the deployment at a cost of $163.37 million in just two years. The project was financed by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) serving as technical consultants. As detailed in a government press release, the cable connects Chennai, on India’s mainland, to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It will deliver 400Gbit/s speed in Port Blair and 200Gbit/s on nearby islands. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal, one of the country’s most remote regions, where the

high-speed connectivity is expected to help the region take advantage of several government initiatives, and boost tourism. Port Blair is now connected to the islands of Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island and Rangat. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd www.bsnl.co.in Tell us YOUR news. . . To submit news for the India Insight section free of charge, email david@intras.co.uk or call direct on +44 1926 334137.

Bigstockphoto.com “Taj Mahal sunset silhouette in Agra, India” Photographer: David Evison

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