Airtel, Google tie-up a step towards innovation in mobile Internet

The deal seems to be a win-win situation for consumers, content providers and advertisers

Bharti Airtel and Google have entered into a strategic partnership to add a new dimension to mobile Internet in India.

Under the tie-up, Airtel will bring Google search to the Airtel Live mobile WAP portal. Advertising on the Airtel Live mobile portal will be taken care of by Google through mobile ads, which are text advertisements based on search terms displayed alongside search results on the Airtel Live mobile portal.

The deal seems to be a win-win situation for the consumers, content providers and the advertisers. The consumers will be able to lay their hands on the best search vehicle. The content providers will be able to offer consumers the benefit of ease in finding and enjoying content on their mobile handsets.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, V-P, Asia Pacific and Latin America operations, Google, says, “For advertisers, this partnership will open doors to a new and powerful media. They will be able to take up target and time-sensitive advertising. The benefit of extended reach will play an important role, too. For advertising online, one necessarily requires a webpage on which the advertisement needs to be placed. This tie-up will change the game. Targeted users can be reached out to on a cost-per-click basis.”

Airtel, Google tie-up a step towards innovation in mobile Internet

From left to right, Emmanuel Sauquet, Manoj Kohli, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy and Jai Menon.

Talking about reaching the target group, Jai Menon, director, IT and innovation, Bharti Airtel, says, “Advertising will differ largely on the basis of demographics. We are looking at catering to the broad masses, but this kind of innovation is bound to create ripples amongst the youth.”

Google will power searches on Airtel Live in two areas – on the Net (rich content on Airtel Live) and off the Net (Internet on Mobile). Airtel Live has over 50,000 exclusive pieces of content, including information such as news, the stock ticker and sports scores and downloadable content such as games, music, video clips and wallpapers.

“In India, mobile is fast outgrowing the growth of PCs. Mobile users outnumber PC users in India by a factor of six. By offering Google services to our customers, Airtel strengthens its commitment to innovation. With this service, the World Wide Web has literally converged into the handheld device, enabling anytime, anywhere access to information and entertainment for Airtel customers,” says Manoj Kohli, president, Bharti Airtel.

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