Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated a submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair, which will enable the delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecommunication services to the islands on par with other parts of India.

"This optical fibre cable project is a gift for the people of Andaman before Independence Day. This is a symbol of our commitment towards ease of living. Be it online classes, tourism, banking, shopping, or telemedicine, thousands of families in Andaman and Nicobar will now get access," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that tourists will also reap huge benefits from this facility as better net connectivity is the first priority of any tourist destination. "The problem of mobile and Internet connectivity has now been resolved. Apart from this, physical connectivity through road, air, and water is also being strengthened."

He pointed out that the project will lead to high-speed broadband connectivity, fast and reliable mobile and landline telecom services, which in turn will give a big boost to the local economy and delivery of e-governance, telemedicine, and tele-education services.

About 2,300-km long cable has been laid at a cost of about Rs 1,224 crore. The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.

The submarine OFC link will deliver a bandwidth of 2x200 Gigabits per second between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2x100 Gbps between Port Blair and other islands.

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.

Enhanced telecom and broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and also give an impetus to the economy and thus raise the standards of living of the populace. (IANS)