India Government has approved a Rs 1,100 crore submarine optical fiber cable connectivity project between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The estimated cost of Rs 1102.38 crore includes operational expenses for five years. The project, which is likely to be completed by December 2018, will enhance mobile connectivity in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The project is to set up a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Mainland (Chennai) and Port Blair & five other islands viz. Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Havelock, Kamorta and Great Nicobar.

The investment in telecom infrastructure project will ensure that Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI) will get enough bandwidth and telecom connectivity for implementing e-Governance initiatives and the expansion of enterprises and e-commerce facilities.

Currently, satellite is the medium for providing telecom connectivity between Mainland and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Business and residences in Andaman & Nicobar Islands cannot rely on the present bandwidth and connectivity since bandwidth available is limited to 1 Gbps, satellite bandwidth is costly and its availability is limited.

India government earlier noted that lack of bandwidth and telecom connectivity is hampering socio-economic development of the islands.