India gets its first undersea optical fibre connection: Here’s what it does

India’s first ever optical fibre project today got inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But before we tell you about the project, what do you mean by the term ‘Optical Fibre’? In simple terms, it is a medium or a technology that transmits information as light pulses along with a glass or plastic strand or fibre. This leads to high-performance data transfer over long distances. 

So why is this a big deal in India right now and what is the new optical fibre project all about? To answer your questions, here are some point-wise details on this new project that will prove to be a massive leap for the Indian tech industry.

-PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first ever undersea optical fibre project for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

-This is a 2,312-Kilometers long submarine optical fibre cable project connecting Chennai - Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI).

-PM Modi inaugurated this on December 30, 2018.

-The project has been implemented at a cost of Rs 1,224 crore.

-The optical fibre cable is supposed to connect other islands as well including Swaraj Dweep (Havlock), Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman, Kamorta, Car Nicobar and Greater Nicobar.

-All telecom operators in the country will be able to provide their mobile and broadband services using the CANI optical fibre link.

-Airtel is the first to confirm this move. “With the commissioning of the fiber link, Airtel has become the first mobile operator to launch ‘Ultra-Fast 4G’ services in Andaman and Nicobar,” said the firm in a statement.

-Internet with speed of 400 Gbps will be provided at Port Blair. For other islands it will be around 200 Gbps.

-The entire work of laying the undersea cable was done by BSNL in less than 24 months.