India-based messaging app provider Nimbuzz has struck a deal with LG for its service to be pre-installed on the South Korean company’s smartphones, according to The Next Web.

The messaging app will initially be installed on LG’s recently-launched L-Series smartphones in India, before expanding to other devices. The deal will also see LG smartphone users offered 100 minutes of free calls using the service.

Last year Nimbuzz partnered with India’s Aircel and Pakistan operator Mobilink to provide a discounted Nimbuzz Bundle to allow unlimited usage of the app.

And in March the company was reported to be in talks with Indian mobile operators to launch a co-branded app providing low-cost international VoIP calls.

Other markets and smartphone makers are also in line for similar partnerships, Nimbuzz CEO Vikas Saxena said in an interview.

“The Middle Eastern region will be next — as we have a strong user base there — but we will also roll the deal out in other areas in South Asia too,” Saxena said.

In June last year, Nimbuzz formed a partnership allowing it to target subscribers of the Sri Lankan operator division of Hutchison Whampoa.

The company claims to have 150 million registered users, the majority of which are in India and the Middle East. The company does not specify what proportion of these are active users. Japan-based LINE takes a similar approach, recently claiming 400 million registered users.

WhatsApp, acknowledged as the most popular messaging app globally, this week passed 500 million monthly active users.