Rcom Acquires US Data Services Firm

Reliance Communications on Dec 20 said it has acquired the US-based data communications services company Yipes for $300 million to amplify its presence in the $100-billion global market for this industry. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the regulator for the industry in the US, has given its nod to the acquisition by Flag Telecom, which is a part of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, the company said in a statement. FCC approval is an important step for Reliance Communications to accelerate its plans to expand Yipes coverage in US domestic market, said Punit Garg, chief executive of Flag and president of Reliance Communications.

This step also paves the way to extend Yipes'' services worldwide over Flag''s global next-generation network, creating significantly more value from our undersea network in the strongholds of India, the Middle East and East Asia.According to Flag, the global enterprise and institutional data services market is estimated at $100 billion, while the Ethernet services market is projected to become a $30.7-billion market by 2012. Yipes customers will enjoy broader coverage, access to more international markets and more rollout over new innovative services, the company said.