Here’s why the Andaman and Nicobar islands had to wait so long for 4G internet

After years of struggling with slow internet speeds, the Andaman and Nicobar islands are finally integrated into the country’s 4G network after the Rs 1,224 crore undersea cable project connecting the islands to Chennai was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Inauguration of the submarine Optical Fibre Cable in Andaman and Nicobar Islands ensures: High-speed broadband connectivity. Fast and reliable mobile and landline telecom services. Big boost to the local economy. Delivery of e-governance, telemedicine and tele-education," the Prime Minister tweeted.

Why the Andaman and Nicobar islands had to wait so long for 4G internet

The 2,313 kilometre submarine optical fiber cable will connect seven islands of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, other than the capital city of Port Blair. That includes Swaraj Deep (Havelock island), Long Island, Rangat, Little Andaman, Kamorta, Car Nicobar, and Greater Nicobar.

Once completed, the undersea cables will deliver 2x200 Gigabits per second (Gbps) bandwidth between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2x100 Gbps between Port Blair and other islands.

4G first arrived in India in 2012, and the entry of Reliance Jio catalysed the adoption across the country. Except the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Before the undersea cable was inaugurated, the region only had 3G services from Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL.

4G arrival will be gamechanging for the islands

Before the undersea cable was laid, tourists and residents of the islands would only get 3G and 2G cellular service, along with obscenely expensive broadband connections, made possible by satellite connections. Previously, the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) had envisioned to cover all 26 states and union territories by 2011, but Andaman and Nicobar Islands were not included.

As a result, telecom providers had to rely on expensive satellite bandwidth to deliver internet services. BSNL sourced bandwidth from ISRO’s GSAT 16 and GSAT 18 satellites. As a result, only the government authorities, banks and other institutions would get 2Mbps leased internet lines, while the rest of the residents had to rely on 2G connections to run apps like WhatsApp and Facebook.

Because of this arrangement, low-cost high-speed internet services were not able to penetrate the archipelago. The only other private players present in the island were Airtel and Vodafone, but even they failed to keep the costs low, and could only provide patchy 2G services in the major urban pockets, leaving majority of the island areas with no cellular coverage.

Airtel first to offer 4G services in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

With the submarine optical fiber cable now in place, Airtel announced it will be the first mobile operator to launch its 4G services in the islands.

"The new fiber link marks a major milestone in India’s digital transformation journey as this critical infrastructure reaches the strategic archipelago. We are grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for taking the time to launch this key digital infrastructure,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel said.

Vodafone is yet to announce 4G services for the island territory, but curiously missing is Reliance Jio. Back in 2018, Jio was unable to provide its services because of the government mandate to mandatorily provide 2G services in the island. But now that 4G services can be offered thanks to the undersea cable, more telecom providers are also expected to announce 4G availability in Andaman and Nicobar islands.