Tata Indicom today said it has entered into an agreement with Yahoo! India for providing online user interface to all Tata Indicom Mobile & Broadband customers as part of the partnership, a co-branded Yahoo! India website would serve as the default homepage across all Tata Indicom internet access devices, TTSL said in a statement. Which means any customer logging on to the Internet using any Tata Indicom Internet access device or service, will be received by a co-branded Yahoo! India homepage with ready access to all Yahoo! services.
This type of the deal of a portal tying up with a service provider is a typical AOL style deal, and rather old hat. In fact, a couple of years ago, AOL India tied up with MTNL to make it the default homepage for MTNL ADSL broadband.
The partnership will enable Yahoo! India to reach out directly to millions of users subscribing to Tata Indicom Internet services, such as Photon Plug2Surf, Photon Plus and Photon Pro Wireline Broadband. Tata Indicom subscribers will also be able to find relevant information on services like bill payment, tariff plans, promotions, etc. on the portal. At the same time, they will also have access to the best online content and communication services through Yahoo!’s flagship properties like Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Cricket, Yahoo! Mobile, etc. The Yahoo! India homepage already attracts around 3 million consumers every day (Source: comScore April’09).
"This alliance will allow Yahoo! to reach a wider audience in the internet and digital spaces, and gain access to a captive user base to create not only a deeper connection with users, but also deliver a seamless user experience across platforms," Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) Chief Marketing Officer Lloyd Mathias said.