According to BT Cellnet, phonefactory.com will offer unbiased advice and top-quality customer support, while also providing free next-day delivery as standard.

"Consumers in the UK are starting to embrace e-commerce and we see there is a huge opportunity to sell mobile phones online," said Peter Erskine, managing director, BT Cellnet.

"Phonefactory.com will essentially put the control in the hands of the customer by offering the best possible deals on all four of the UK's mobile networks."

The services being offered at launch include facilities for acquiring call-time top-ups and purchasing accessories as well as phones online. More facilities will be added in the coming months, says the vendor.

"Customers in the UK have already demonstrated that they have an appetite for mobile phones and a willingness to buy goods and services online -- we have developed phonefactory.com to serve this market," noted Paul McQuaid, head of e-commerce at phonefactory.com.

"It does not take a great leap of imagination to see people ordering tickets or paying bills via their mobile phones and we expect phonefactory.com to be at the centre of this when the market develops," he added.

BT Cellnet will supply industry expertise to the new venture, but but says that phonefactory.com will operate as a separate business.

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