Japan's largest wireless operator, NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (NYSE: DCM), will be joining with the world's leading internet search company to provide advanced services to its customers. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) will help NTT customers find what they want on the web through a promotional effort that aims to boost mobile search as well as generate revenue with search-related advertising.
In a country where much of the mobile subscriber population regularly accesses the internet through millions of cellphone handsets, this is a significant development. But it's not just because Google has partnered with a global wireless carrier -- it's because the partnership referred to search-related advertising explicitly.
One area that Google must treat carefully with new wireless partnerships is its ability to monetize its search service within the confines of a smaller screen. The company made its fortune supplying relevant but relatively simple text ads to web surfers, so it already knows how to reach customers successfully in another medium: supply relevancy and quality without taking away from the search experience.
If Google can demonstrate this ability on the mobile phone battlefront with a huge partner like NTT, then the future for its mobile monetization efforts will look very bright. The company will be able to confirm its mission of "organizing the world's information and mak[ing] it universally accessible and useful" -- at the same time that it generates handsome profits.
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