The government is likely to approve a telecom project connecting Andman and Nicobar Islands with Chennai through an undersea optical fibre cable (OFC) by December 2015. The detailed report on the project based on desktop survey has been prepared by Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. The project has also proposed to connect Lakshadweep islands with OFC network. It was cleared by an inter-ministerial panel in November 2014.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed an initial plan outlay of
Rs 24 billion to connect Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
The Islands are a part of the West Bengal service area and Lakshadweep is a part of the Kerala circle. In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, four telecom operators ? Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance – have launched services while in Lakshadweep, only BSNL and Bharti Airtel are offering telecom services.
