The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change recently recommended the MIST (Myanmar/Malaysia-India-Singapore Transit) Submarine Cable System for Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance. Anticipated to be operational by 2023, this marks the 17th Optical Fibre Cable System to land in Mumbai.
Introduction to MIST
MIST is an international undersea cable communication network that is designed to bridge the gap between India and other Asian countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Spanning around 8,100 kilometers, it connects Mumbai to Singapore through Chennai. With its endpoint in Mumbai’s Versova beach, this transnational fibre optic cable system lays down 523.50 kilometers along the Tamil Nadu coastal waters at a distance of roughly 12 nautical miles offshore. It further extends about 202.06 kilometers into Maharashtra’s CRZ boundary.
The Importance of the MIST Project
Boasting several benefits, the MIST cable system promises secure, robust, reliable, and economical telecom facilities across Asia. It aims to enhance telecom connectivity between India and other Asian countries. This global project approaches its significance with minimum environmental interference along Mumbai’s coast. Additionally, it mitigates potential conflicts borne out of the escalating number of international cables landing on Chennai’s coast.
Upcoming Similar Projects
Several analogous projects are in the pipeline such as Reliance Jio Infocomm’s India Asia Xpress (IAX), linking India to the Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The India Europe Xpress (IEX) endeavour plans to interface India to Italy through Saudi Arabia and Greece. SeaMeWe-6, a venture headed by a consortium of telecom providers, aims to unite Singapore and France via India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. Moreover, the Africa2 cable initiative seeks to link India with the United Kingdom, covering several African countries.
Insight into Submarine Communications Cables
A Submarine Communications Cable is stationed on the seabed between terrestrial stations to convey telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. Modern-day submarine cables harness fiber-optic technology wherein optical fibre elements are generally plastic-coated and housed in a protective tube suitable for deployment under the austere sea environment. The internet connection provided through these cables is more reliable, cost-efficient, and capacitive as compared to satellite connections.
The role of Optical Fibres
Functioning as the backbone of digital infrastructure, optical fibres transmit data using light pulses that travel through long, thin strands of fibre. In optical fibre communication, metal wires are favoured for transmission due to their lower signal damage. Working on the principle of total internal reflection (TIR), these fibres can transmit substantial amounts of data. In situations where the fibre is bent, the optic cables are engineered in a way that redirects all light rays inwards, leveraging the TIR.