The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are currently facing severe communication disruptions following a major fault in the Car Nicobar-Kamorta segment of the Chennai-Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI) submarine optical fiber cable. Nancowry and Great Nicobar experience complete internet blackouts, forcing residents and essential services to rely on limited satellite backup. The incident highlights the islands’ ongoing vulnerability due to dependence on a single primary link.
Since its commissioning in August 2020, the CANI submarine cable stretches over 2,313 kilometers from Chennai to Sri Vijaya Puram, with extensions to islands including Swaraj Dweep, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat. The cable significantly improves internet speeds, reliability, and digital access, enabling e-governance, telemedicine, tele-education, digital banking, and tourism activities across the union territory. Telecom operators like BSNL and Airtel utilize the high-capacity link to provide 4G and 5G connectivity, with a design capacity of 400 Gbps to Sri Vijaya Puram and 200 Gbps to other islands.
Despite these advancements, the current outage exposes the ongoing risks of relying on a single submarine cable. Communities face slow or nonexistent internet, interrupted communication, and increased difficulties in accessing critical services. Offices, and local businesses struggle to maintain operations, while residents navigate the daily disruptions caused by the blackouts.
Calls for greater redundancy, such as a parallel OFC route or an alternative link through Odisha, grow louder among residents. Authorities stress that such measures are crucial to ensure continuous connectivity and avoid similar disruptions in the future.
The Wave Andaman has reached out to BSNL and Airtel for comments on the fault and the expected restoration timeline. At the time of publication, both companies have not responded, leaving residents dependent on limited satellite backups.
The CANI cable transforms digital access in the islands, the current infrastructure gap leaves the region highly susceptible to interruptions. Urgent investment in redundancy and backup routes is needed to secure reliable connectivity for everyday life, economic activity, and strategic communication. Until additional measures are implemented, Nancowry and Great Nicobar remain vulnerable to prolonged internet and communication outages.
