The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to leverage one of the three existing subsea cable links between Chennai and Singapore to enhance connectivity between the Indian mainland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

At present, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Tata Communications run independent submarine cable systems between Chennai and Singapore. These subsea cable systems cover area of over 3,100 km.

The DoT is of the view that it would be more cost effective to branch off a link to Port Blair and other islands from one of the existing Chennai-Singapore undersea cable systems run by the three operators. The department has asked Telecom Consultants India Limited (TCIL) to examine whether deploying the ‘feeder route’ would be more cost-effective than investing in a new 1,200 km optic fibre subsea link between Chennai and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The DoT is focusing on reinforcing telecom connectivity to the Union Territory as Andaman and Nicobar islands has a naval base and is strategically important territory for India’s security from other countries.