Reliance Communications (R-Com), India’s second-largest mobile operator, has signed a deal with Universal Music that will put music at the heart of its forthcoming 3G network rollout. According to a Financial Times report, the deal with Universal – the world’s largest record company – is the first major content agreement struck by an Indian operator since the completion of the country’s 3G auctions earlier this year. It is targeted at India’s large but relatively untapped market for mobile content services. “This is a long-term strategic play by Universal to try to get in front of as many consumers as possible,” said Rob Wells, senior vice-president for digital at Universal. R-Com, which spent US$1.8 billion on 3G licenses, plans to begin rollout of its new high-speed network by year-end. “It is our expectation that the government will allocate spectrum by September, following which we will start the rollout by year-end,” Mahesh Prasad, president of the company’s wireless business, told reporters today.

Mobile music is set to be a major focus for India’s new 3G operators. The Financial Times notes that Nokia has already seen some success with its Comes With Music download service in India, and in Q2 launched a new all-you-can-eat service called Ovi Music Unlimited. “When we compare Nokia’s digital music billings in 2009 with estimates from IFPI [the record labels’ international trade association], it shows we are the single largest source of revenue in India,” Nokia said. “The launch of Ovi Music Unlimited has only bolstered that further.” However, Universal’s Wells highlights some problems in delivering such services in India. “The scale in India is vast. But we have a big piracy problem. We have problems associated with low income and in some areas low literacy levels and no credit cards. It’s difficult to traverse when you are trying to sell music in a digital format.”