Behind the online services the islands now run on: the 2,300 km CANI submarine cable from Chennai

Background

The island administration now puts its notices and citizen services online, and the link that made that possible is a submarine cable. The Prime Minister launched submarine cable connectivity to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, known as CANI, through video conferencing. The project is an optical fibre cable of about 2,300 km laid under the sea. Its foundation stone had been laid at Port Blair on 30 December 2018. At launch, service had begun on the segments from Chennai to Port Blair, from Port Blair to Little Andaman, and from Port Blair to Swaraj Island. The cable is the backbone for e-governance, telemedicine, online education and tourism bookings across the island group.