Port Blair (Sri Vijay Puram): In a comprehensive drive to bridge the digital divide across the archipelago, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has unveiled a major series of promotional offers, deep-rural broadband programs, and breakthrough wireless infrastructure projects for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The state-run telecom operator has rolled out promotional entry points across all its service verticals, led by an aggressive ₹1 mobile SIM connection offer designed to make cellular access universally affordable as part of its Independence Day bonanza.
For home and enterprise users, BSNL introduced a flagship Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband plan at ₹1,111 per month, delivering high-speed connectivity of 200 Mbps with a 5,000 GB monthly quota, bundled alongside complimentary access to more than 25 premium OTT entertainment platforms.!Broadening critical communication access across the islands’ vast maritime corridors, the operator has also opened its satellite phone services directly to the general public.
Originally restricted primarily to government departments, the satellite service is now commercially available to shipping operators, fishermen, and residents in far-flung pockets requiring dependable off-grid communications. In tandem with retail offerings, BSNL is accelerating the Central Government’s Amended BharatNet initiative across the Union Territory, targeting full broadband saturation for all 400-plus inhabited villages regardless of population size.
Under a newly established community-driven model, any village that logs just five broadband registrations on the BSNL portal will see optical fiber extended directly to their area within two to three months, with all modem, cable-laying, and setup fees fully subsidized so residents only pay regular monthly usage charges. On the cellular front, BSNL is executing the Digital Bharat 4G Saturation program by deploying 165 towers across the territory, comprising 94 brand-new installations and 70 legacy tower upgrades.
The entire rollout runs on India’s homegrown indigenous telecom stack, creating an in-house technological base intended to simplify future transitions into 5G and 6G networks. Addressing teething issues such as ring-tone glitches and network disturbances, officials affirmed that field teams collect user complaints weekly to deploy continuous software patches and optimize site performance as the indigenous platform matures.
The connectivity push is further anchored by a record-breaking engineering feat in the southern group of islands: India’s longest over-the-air microwave radio link, stretching 48 kilometers across the open sea between Kamorta and Teressa Islands. The high-capacity link has successfully brought operational 4G coverage to Teressa across two active sites, with upcoming links extending the indigenous network to neighboring remote landmasses such as Bambooka Island in the days ahead.
