Deutsche Telekom, parent of T-Mobile, announced a mobile search partnership with Google which marks the latest stage in an on-and-off relationship for the companies. Effective already, Google will be the pre-selected search partner for mobile phone internet searches by T-Mobile’s European customer base, with access via the homepage of the operator’s “web’n’walk” portal and from the handset idle screen. The service will be optimised for mobile use, and it was noted that Google is already DT’s partner in its fixed-line search business – the operator says that it “expects synergies in the future as we continue to release innovative convergent solutions.“ Commercial terms of the deal were not announced.

It appears that with the current partnership, Google has displaced Yahoo!, which announced a strategic alliance with T-Mobile “including mobile search” in February 2008. At this point, it was reported that Yahoo! was replacing Google itself, after an earlier contract expired. More recently, Google displaced Yahoo! from its position as search partner for T-Mobile USA this year, and the current contract appears to be an extension of this relationship. While smartphone users receive much of the focus with regard to mobile internet services, featurephone customers still present a significant growth opportunity, and are perhaps more likely to remain with the default search partner of their operator, especially when positioned prominently on devices. With Google’s ad-based business model benefiting from the largest possible audience, this makes T-Mobile’s mid-tier customer base an attractive asset. It is likely that T-Mobile will have a revenue-share agreement in place with Google for income derived from these customers.