Yahoo signs biggest mobile search deal with wireless carrier

By Giselle Tsirulnik

December 21, 2007

OneSearch users have access to news, financial information and weather updates

Yahoo Inc. has sealed a deal with Latin American wireless services provider America Movil, inking its largest mobile search agreement with an operator.

Per the agreement, Yahoo's oneSearch will be the default and preferred mobile search service on America Movil's many wireless carrier portals for 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Links to Yahoo's mobile Web properties will also appear on the portals of America Movil's carriers.

"Yahoo's strategy is multifold," said Cory Pforzheimer, spokesman at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. "It is a global expansion effort and gives Yahoo tremendous breadth and depth into the Latin American mobile market."

The news comes soon after Microsoft Corp. upgraded its Live Search Mobile platform. It is also part of Yahoo's efforts to boost use of the mobile Internet and generate more revenue from that channel for its assorted mobile services.

Yahoo will customize localized versions of oneSearch for each area, integrating the carriers' content and offer blended search results to users. OneSearch users have access to news, financial information, weather updates, flickr photos, online images and Web and mobile-only sites.

Both companies will launch new products for mobile devices in the coming months.

"We will truly be providing a relevant search experience since we will tailor search experiences specifically for that country in that language, making all results real and true for that culture and language," Mr. Pforzheimer said.

Yahoo oneSearch is now available in 19 countries. The service was launched in January.

The America Movil deal also follows a similar arrangement Yahoo struck with Spanish-run telecoms giant Telefonica, which has nearly 207 million customers across Europe, Africa and Latin America.

The Telefonica deal was announced Oct. 1, followed by nine additional oneSearch deals in Asia-Pacific and one with Rogers Wireless in Canada.

All told, Yahoo has 21 partnerships for its oneSearch service.

"Partnering with America Movil expands our mobile reach," Mr. Pforzheimer said. "It also demonstrates that we are committed to enhancing consumers' mobile Internet experience.

"This is our largest mobile search partnership with an operator to date," he said. "It definitely gives us huge traction and dominant market share in the Latin American market."