Indian mobile carriers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have sold their WiFi joint venture (JV) Firefly Networks to iBus Network and Infrastructure Private Limited.

The two carriers confirmed the sale this week in separate regulatory filings, netting a combined INR 45 million ($1.04m).

The sale is expected to close within 30 business days.

Both companies have been looking to offload their stakes in the WiFi JV for a number of years, with Cisco Systems and Manipura Digital Infrastructure both previously in talks to buy the asset.

The duo set up Firefly back in 2015, but the JV has contributed little to the two telcos' revenues.

Last year, Firefly contributed 0.0065 percent to Airtel’s turnover for the full year, while Vi noted an INR55 million ($640,250) loss during the same period.

Firefly manages and monetizes WiFi hotspots and provides WiFi infrastructure to a range of clients including educational institutes, hospitals, malls, cafes, public hangouts and markets, transit points, and corporate parks across the major Indian cities.

iBus Network and Infrastructure Private Limited is a neutral digital infrastructure company. According to the company's website, iBus has deployed its solutions to more than 1,500 sites in India.

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) are among some of the firms that back iBus.