Smaaz’s Blog

AT&T and Yahoo! Expand Strategic Alliance on Wireless and PC Screens

January 31st, 2008

AT&T Inc. and Yahoo! today announced a new multi-year strategic alliance that paves the way for an even richer and more innovative online experience for consumers - whether at home or on the go.

The agreement creates significant new advertising-based revenue opportunities for both companies from search and display capabilities from either a mobile handset or a PC.

The new phase of the alliance includes the following features:

– A new look and feel for the att.net portal, “powered by Yahoo!,” beginning in the second quarter, for new customers. Later in the year, the att.net portal, which will run on the My Yahoo! and Yahoo! Mail platforms, will be available to existing AT&T Yahoo! customers as well as those AT&T Internet customers in the former BellSouth service area and those with the legacy AT&T WorldNet service.

– Yahoo! provides search and display advertising for AT&T consumers on mobile devices and the PC.

– Once the new att.net portal launches later this year, any AT&T customer - even those without AT&T Internet service - can access the new Web portal and e-mail services at no additional charge. For example, an AT&T wireless customer in Seattle could establish an att.net e-mail address and access e-mail via a mobile smart device or a PC.

– Access to co-branded versions of Yahoo!’s mobile Web properties and the Yahoo! Go application for AT&T’s 14.2 million broadband customers.

– AT&T’s YELLOWPAGES.COM becomes the lead local search experience on both the wireless and PC screens for AT&T customers, bringing easy-to-use local search capabilities to customers at home or on-the-go.

– AT&T U-verse TV(SM) customers continue to have access to Yahoo! content through the service’s interactive AT&T U-bar feature, where available.

“Our goal is to connect our customers to their worlds, wherever they live and work,” said Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO, AT&T Inc. “This new agreement with Yahoo! reinforces AT&T’s leadership in wireless and broadband and enables both companies to bring their respective strengths to the table to benefit AT&T’s customers. It also reflects the benefits of establishing strong alliances in business today.”

“Since 2001, the AT&T Yahoo! alliance has been a benchmark in both the telecommunications and Internet industries,” said Jerry Yang, co-founder and CEO, Yahoo! Inc. “The combination of Yahoo!’s innovative mobile and PC applications and advertising solutions, with AT&T’s leadership in customer connectivity, mobility and robust networks once again raises the bar for the entire industry and further establishes Yahoo! as a starting point for consumers on the Internet.”

The agreement calls for revenue sharing, but detailed financial terms were not disclosed.

Entry Filed under: Yahoo!