The actual work of laying the 837 km cable was done by NEC of Japan, under a contract valued at US$22.7 million.

[10] Dhiraagu held a monopoly on the telecoms market in the Maldives from its creation until 2005, a situation it is accused of having created and maintained.

Until 2004, the Telecommunications Authority of Maldives had refrained from issuing additional licenses to other companies, preventing any competition to all of the telecom services provided by Dhiraagu.

This status quo may have been deliberately retained by the Maldivian government in an effort to profit from Dhiraagu's revenues, as it partly owns the company.

Foreseeing competition and regular criticism from the public, the company lowered service prices in the mid- to late-2000s.