The Sunil Mittal-led telecom major Bharti Airtel and Hughes Communications India (HCIL) on Tuesday have decided to combine their VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite communications operations in India. The transaction is subject to approvals by relevant authorities.

HCIL is the India unit of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services.

VSAT refers to the provision of data services using satellites, and is used extensively by banks and ATMs.

Hughes will have majority ownership in the combined entity and Airtel will have a significant shareholding.

The combined entitty of Airtel and Hughes will be able to introduce new VSAT and related technologies to deliver a wide range of quality products and service, and will continue to serve existing Hughes and Airtel customers.

"We are very excited about the synergies that this partnership will bring to the Indian ecosystem. These are exciting times for satellite broadband service providers as VSAT becomes more mainstream, driven by growing demand from both, enterprise and government segments", said Partho Banerjee, President and Managing Director, Hughes Communications India Ltd.

"We are pleased to combine our VSAT operations with Hughes to serve the connectivity needs of Digital India. The partnership will bring amazing synergies to the forefront and combine the proven capabilities of both the companies. Customers can look forward to highly secure and reliable connectivity solutions across the length and breadth of India", said Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO, Airtel Business.