3 mobile customers log onto Yahoo!

3 mobile customers log onto Yahoo!

	Published : Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:45 By : Amy Watts Print this Story

LONDON - Mobile operator 3 has announced that it will team up with Internet giant Yahoo to offer its customers unhindered access to the web. The companies have entered into a global agreement "to enable 3 customers to surf the entire World Wide Web from their handset for the first time."

Services like Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mobile Web, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Mail, and Yahoo! Go for Mobile would be available for 3's customers. Previously they had access to sites, which were deemed as mobile-worthy by 3. Now with Yahoo's rendering technology, they can have unhindered access to the Internet.

"Convergence between the Internet and mobile has been much talked about, but this deal will really make it happen," commented Christian Salbaing, 3's European managing director. "This relationship isn't just about us buying more content to put on our portal. It's about a deep engagement between our two companies to bring some of the world's most popular Internet services and content to 3's networks."

Initially the service will be available for UK this summer and will soon be followed by its extension to the main European and Asia-Pacific markets including Italy, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Australia. 3's owner Hutchison Whampoa has not announced any date for starting the service, but it is though that it will be released in the summer. 3 also said that although it had signed an agreement with Yahoo, its customers were free to access rival sites including those of Microsoft and Google.

As far as Yahoo is concerned, this deal will give it an opportunity to increase its revenue stream from advertising. But Yahoo's European Vice President Geraldine Wilson focused only on reach, "This arrangement gives us a new opportunity to take Yahoo content and services to even more potential users - especially those that might not have ready or frequent access to the Internet via a PC," he said.