The Hindu Business Line : Google, Bharti join hands for search on mobiles

Mobile engine
Text ads to be displayed alongside search results
Users can be reached on cost-per-click basis
Business model a first for consumers, businesses

MOBILE SEARCH: (From left) Mr Emmanuel Sauquet, Director, Mobile Strategy, Asia Pacific and Latin America, Google; Mr Manoj Kohli, President, Bharti Airtel Ltd; Ms Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Vice-President, Asia Pacific and Latin America Operations, Google; and Mr Jai Menon, Director, IT and Innovation, Bharti Airtel Ltd, at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. — V. Sudershan

New Delhi , Nov. 30

Bharti Airtel and Google on Thursday announced a strategic partnership that will enable Google search on handsets for Airtel users.

As part of the agreement, Airtel will bring Google search to the Airtel Live mobile WAP portal.

Google will incorporate advertising through its Mobile Ads product on the Airtel Live mobile portal.

Mobile Ads are text advertisements based on search terms that are displayed alongside search results on the Airtel Live mobile portal.

This will help advertisers reach targeted users with their products and services on a cost-per-click basis.

This business model is a first for both consumers and businesses in India.

"In India, mobile is fast outgrowing the growth of PCs. Mobile users outnumber PC users in India by a factor of six," said Mr Manoj Kohli, President of Bharti Airtel.

"The first computing experience for the majority of Indians in the next few years will be on a mobile phone. Airtel is delighted to partner with Google, a company that practically reinvented the Internet, to bring its cutting edge technology to our customers."

He added: "By offering Google services to our customers, Airtel strengthens its commitment to innovation.

"With this service, the worldwide Web has literally converged into the handheld device enabling anytime, anywhere access to information and entertainment to Airtel customers."

Ms Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, Vice-President (Asia Pacific and Latin America Operations) of Google, said: "Today, India is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. We are very pleased to partner with Airtel, a company that has played a key role in leading the country's explosive mobile growth, to bring Google services to millions of users."

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