20 January 2025
Dhiraagu has extended its high-speed fibre broadband network to all inhabited islands in the Maldives in a five-year project..jpg?lu=796)
Dhiraagu CEO and MD Ismail Rasheed said that only a few developed countries have successfully extended 100% fibre broadband coverage to their entire population.
While the Maldives is a small country with less than 578,000 people, it’s also a geographically challenging archipelago of close to 1,200 islands across 22 atolls. Of that, around 200 islands are inhabited. All those islands now have access to fibre broadband services.
The rollout enhances the Maldives’ digital backbone and will fuel the growth of digital services across the country, as well as enable greater digital inclusion in island communities by expanding broadband access and lowering the cost of internet services. Ismail credited the government, atoll councils, island councils and partners for their cooperation in rolling out the fibre broadband network, as well as the work of Dhiraagu staff.
The islands of the Maldives archipelago are connected by several inter-island subsea cable systems, but currently its only international subsea link is to Sri Lanka via the Maldives Sri Lanka Cable (MSC), which has been in operation since 2021. However, the Maldives has established a landing point for the India-Asia-Xpress (IAX) subsea cable connecting Mumbai with Singapore, which will interconnect with the India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) subsea cable system connecting Mumbai with Milan, Italy, that is scheduled to be ready for service sometime in 2025.
