Reliance Communications has merged with U.S.-based Yipes Holdings, Inc. Yipes' Ethernet services is the private undersea cable system of FLAG Telecom, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications.

Punit Garg, President, Global Business, Reliance Communications & CEO, FLAG Telecom said, "FCC approval is an important step for Reliance to accelerate its plans to expand Yipes’ coverage in the U.S. domestic market. 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 assets in the strongholds of India, the Middle East, and East Asia."

"Yipes has always been a leader in providing innovative technology and first-class services to its customers. Our acquisition by Reliance will enable us to extend our technology to enterprise customers around the world while maintaining our customer service commitments,” said John Scanlon, CEO of Yipes. “Our rapid global expansion will allow us to secure a larger share of the business Ethernet services market, the fastest growing segment of the data services market, which is projected to climb to $30.7 billion by 2012."