Rumor has it that Europe's largest telecommunications groups plan to form a mobile search engine to go up against industry heavyweights Yahoo and Google.

According to conflicting news reports discussing the rumors, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Hutchison Whampoa, Telefonica, Vodafone, and Telecom Italia are among the European companies planning to participate.

Reports also indicate that one U.S. company, Cingular, will join the group.

All About Control

The idea behind this collective apparently is to create mobile search technologies for smaller telecommunications companies that might be craving a piece of the market for mobile advertising.

That market, at least according to research and marketing firm Informa Telecoms & Media, is growing dramatically. Informa predicts that by 2011, nearly 50 percent of all mobile phone subscribers across the world will be browsing the Web from a mobile handset, making the associated ad deals valuable indeed.

Industry analysts are saying the collective represents an attempt to snag a piece of the Google magic. "Google is making so much money," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. Everyone wants a piece of it." As mobile calls become less expensive, mobile carriers will be desperate to bring in cash to boost revenues, he explained.

But by most accounts, going up against industry heavy-hitters will be more than an uphill battle. Experts point out that mobile search is relatively new territory for the carriers and that revenues from the mobile Internet remain largely uncertain.

Dragging Its Feet

Chris Coffman, an analyst with Informa, said he wouldn't be surprised if the rumored announcement might be just a way for the companies to bide time while they figure out the best way to generate revenue.

By way of example, he pointed to the announcement at last year's 3GSM from eight major mobile operators that claimed they were developing instant-messaging services that would work across their networks. Coffman said it was a defensive move to show Yahoo and AOL the carriers were trying to take control.

But nothing ultimately materialized. "The result wasn't really anything," said Coffman. "I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a license to say yes we are doing something."

Coffman noted that one option, should the rumors not materialize in action, would be for the mobile operators to foster stronger relationships with Google and Yahoo, as many have begun to do already.