BT is reported to be planning a move back into the mobile phone market, in order to take advantage of the mobile broadband opportunities that lie within the sector.

The company - one of the country's most popular fixed-line broadband suppliers - demerged its floundering BT Cellnet operation in 2001.

Now, according to the Guardian, BT is preparing to enter discussions on a "joint venture" with mobile broadband providers T-Mobile and 3.

The newspaper's Richard Wachman suggests that the move could be a response to growing competition in the UK broadband market.

He pointed out: "O2 recently kicked off a marketing campaign for its own fixed-line broadband service, threatening the landline company on its home turf."

BT also tried to make inroads into the mobile phone market in 2005, but its BT Fusion project with Vodafone failed to attract enough customers before the service was halted.