Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has moved to increase access to its services in India by forming a joint venture with ICT system integration company HCL Infosystems to sell mobile entertainment and value added services direct to consumers in India, reports Trading Markets. D Shivakumar, vice president and managind director for Nokia India, said: “An important part of our future distribution strategies in India is that we want to ensure that our value added services and entertainment offerings are readily available to all consumers. This arrangement is a natural continuation of our long term collaboration with HCL in India.”

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This is a definite indication of the importance Nokia places on content and services, which it is trying to move into in preparation for the commoditization (or at least, stagnation) of the handset market. Whether this will be an India-specific thing or a trial for further efforts around the globe remains to be seen—Nokia is quite prepared to offer content and services direct to consumers, but may be looking for help getting people to use them.