Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Undersea Cables
Why in the news?
India is gradually expanding its undersea cable infrastructure, with new systems like Airtel’s 2Africa Pearls and SEA-ME-WE-6 boosting its international internet bandwidth.
What are Undersea Cables?
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India’s Current Undersea Cable Ecosystem:
- India’s two main hubs for subsea cables are Mumbai and Chennai.
- 17 international cables land in India, with 95% of subsea cables concentrated in a 6-km stretch in Versova, Mumbai.
- India has two domestic cable systems:
- Chennai–Andaman–Nicobar Islands (CANI)
- Kochi–Lakshadweep Islands
- While current bandwidth is considered sufficient, rising data traffic may soon outpace available capacity.
- Experts warn that India’s current capacity may become inadequate in the near future.
- India contributes only 1% of global cable landing stations and 3% of subsea cable systems, highlighting its underrepresentation in the global network.
Challenges in Undersea Cable Deployment in India
- India faces high risks from cuts, especially at chokepoints like the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, where past disruptions, such as Houthi attacks in 2024, have affected cables.
- Many cables follow traditional shipping routes, limiting redundancy and increasing the risk of large-scale outages. Disruptions could affect 25% of India’s internet.
- Deploying subsea cables requires navigating about 51 permissions from various departments, such as the Department of Telecom, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Meta reports that 80% of project time is spent dealing with regulatory requirements in territorial waters.
- India lacks domestic repair capabilities and relies on foreign ships for cable repairs, making the system vulnerable to prolonged outages.
| [UPSC 2016] With reference to ‘LiFi’, recently in the news, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It uses light as the medium for high speed data transmission. 2. It is wireless technology and is several times faster than ‘WiFi’. Select the correct answer using the codes given below: (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 |
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