Indian mobile operator Reliance Communications (RCOM) has struck a two-year deal with Google to bundle airtime with all Google-endorsed Android phones sold in the country.

Handsets included in the agreement will offer 1GB of free downloads via RCOM’s 3G network for the first six months, in one of the first deals of its kind. RCOM is to launch a INR300 million (US$5.8 million) advertising campaign promoting the initiative beginning this weekend with Google also set to promote the deal.

According to an Economic Times report, it is estimated that than 200,000 such phones will be sold in India over the next two years and that RCOM will be able to retain two-thirds of these customers on a long-term basis. However, consumers will be free to switch to rival networks if they wish.

"RCOM would be able to retain more than a fair share of these customers on its network," Prashant Singhal of Ernst & Young India told the newspaper. "The intangible brand benefits from such an exclusive tie-up will exceed the monetary benefits in the two years.”

The operator is also hoping the deal will allow it to attract higher-value customers to its network. According to the report, the ARPU for India users of Android phones is estimated at around INR250-300, compared to RCOM’s current INR100.

RCOM is India’s second-largest operator (behind Bharti Airtel) with 154 million connections in Q1 2012, according to Wireless Intelligence.