A new project will vastly improve telecommunication facilities by providing large bandwidth

Lakshadweep Islands will soon get submarine optical fibre cable connectivity with the mainland, with the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approving the project on Wednesday.

The KLI Project will connect Kochi in the mainland with the Lakshadweep Islands.

The project envisages the provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Kochi and 11 Islands of Lakshadweep viz. Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Agati, Amini, Androth, Minicoy, Bangaram, Bitra, Chetlat, Kiltan, and Kadmat.

The present approval for the Provision of Submarine
Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity will vastly improve telecommunication facilities in the Lakshadweep Islands by providing large bandwidth.

According to an official release, the submarine
connectivity project will have a vital role for the delivery of e-Governance services at the doorstep of citizens, potential development of fisheries, coconut based industries and high-value tourism, educational development in term of tele-education, and in health care in terms of telemedicine facilities.

“It will help in the establishment of numerous businesses, augment e-commerce activities and provide adequate support to educational institutes for knowledge sharing. The Lakshadweep Islands have the potential to become a hub of logistic services,” the statement read.

The estimated cost of implementation is about Rs. 1072
crore including operational expenses for five years. The submarine project would be funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) has been nominated as
Project Execution Agency and Telecommunications Consultant India Ltd. (TCIL) as the Technical Consultant of the Project to assist Universal Service Obligation Fund, Department of Telecommunications.

The government of India is working to provide
telecommunication facilities in the Union Territories of Lakshadweep, comprising a number of Islands located in the Arabian Sea and of immense strategic significance for India.

According to the release, planning for laying the submarine optical fiber cable to Lakshadweep Islands has been under consideration for some time. A high bandwidth communication facility to the Lakshadweep Islands is also in consonance with realizing the national objective of strengthening e-governance services and achieving the vision of Digital India.

Besides, a similar project to make telecommunication accessible to all was launched by the Prime Minister in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In August, PM Modi inaugurated the first-ever undersea optical fiber project for Andaman and Nicobar Islands which will provide high-speed broadband connections in the Union Territory at par with services in the mainland.

The 2,312-Kilometers long submarine optical fiber cable project connects Chennai - Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI).