In its Independence day speech on August 15, 2020, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised optical fiber connectivity to all six lakh villages in 1,000 days.
Each Indian village will be connected with optical fiber cable (OFC) connectivity in next 1000 days (3 years) under a new cyber security policy. India has network of six lakh villages. This is a new ambitious programme under Digital India mission. Lakshadweep will be connected with submarine optical fiber cable.
OFC connectivity to the villages and submarine OFC to the villages will help the people in rural areas/villages in getting cheaper and better connectivity and all the benefits of Digital India, especially in improving online education, tele-medicine, banking system, online trading, boosting tourism and skill development etc.
Before 2014, only 5 dozen panchayats in the country were connected with optical fiber cable. In the last five years, nearly 1.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country have been connected with optical fiber cable. Participation of rural India and villages in Digital India is important for balanced development of India.
Earlier this week PM Modi inaugurated the first-ever undersea optic fiber link between Chennai and Andaman and Nicobar to ensure high-speed broadband connectivity for the Union Territory (UT) at par with services in the cities like Delhi and Chennai.
“We have around 1,300 islands. Keeping in mind their geographical location and their significance in the development of the nation, work to begin new projects in some of these islands is underway. We have chosen some islands for rapid development. Recently, we connected Andaman and Nicobar Islands with an undersea cable for a better internet. Next, we will connect Lakshadweep,” Prime Minister said while delivering Independence Day speech.
Optical fiber is the technology associated with data transmission using light pulses travelling along with a long fiber which is usually made of plastic or glass. Fiber optic Internet uses cutting edge technology. Information is sent via small, flexible strands of glass that transmit light. This allows data to be sent faster over greater distances.
