Bienvenidos a Google Local

I keep coming back to this topic of the tremendous value of local knowledge and connections which still rests in the hands of good old-fashioned Yellow Pages businesses across much of Europe - the point being it's too time-consuming and costly (I would say it's practically infeasible) to replicate it as Google and others push local search out across the region. Better to buy it, and El Pais today suggests that Google is about to strike a deal with Telefonica's TPI for just this sort of access in Spain (presumably some of the LatAm content would also be of interest). Curiously, the deal is expected to make TPI more attractive as a disposal candidate. I can't understand why telcos want out of this business.