Last week, Yahoo appointed telco veteran Maggie Wilderotter (she's CEO of Citizens Communications Company) to its board of directors - and InternetNews' Clint Boulton thinks there's a lot to read into the announcement.

"Wilderotter previously served as senior vice president of the worldwide public sector division at Microsoft, where she was responsible for strengthening customer and partner outreach in the government and education markets," Boulton writes. "After all, nothing beats an insider's knowledge of a competitor, and Microsoft and Yahoo are serious competitors in the online advertising space."

Boulton says the appointment is all about insider knowledge. "Yahoo, Google and Microsoft are going to need it as they continue to encroach on the markets traditionally cornered and coveted by phone carriers and cable companies," he writes. "Do you think Google is the only online media company with an eye toward wireless spectrum? That company's just been the bold, first one to acknowledge its interest in freeing up spectrum."

"If you're Yahoo, hiring a telco Veteran like Wilderotter is good preparation for a wireless war," Boulton writes. "She'll know how the service providers like to play the game."

More here from TMCnet ... and more here from CNET News.