WebProNews

AT&T said today that Yahoo oneSearch will be the default search engine for AT&T's MEdia Net mobile phone portal.

Yahoo oneSearch will provide users who search AT&T MEdia Net with access to news, financial information, weather, Flickr and mobile Web sites. The deal expands a previous partnership the companies announced earlier this year.

Yahoo says it has partnerships with 60 carriers globally and oneSearch will reach almost 800 million mobile phone users.

In a separate deal, Yahoo reached a contract extension with Verizon Communications to provide online services to Verizon broadband and Internet TV users. That deal does not include mobile phones.

Google is in discussions with Verizon to become the default search provider for Verizon mobile phone customers. Verizon is the No.2 U.S. mobile operator and it is on track to surpass market leader AT&T when it receives regulatory approval to purchase rural wireless provider Alltel later this year.

"Yahoo! oneSearch has proven to be one of the leading mobile Internet search products on the market, and Yahoo! has been successful in partnering with carriers globally," said Scott Ellison, vice president, Mobile & Wireless Communications, IDC.

"This partnership with AT&T will enable Yahoo! to reach tens of millions of mobile Internet users in the United States and provide advertisers with reach and scale."