Mobile Internet access - the ability of consumers to surf the worldwide web using handheld devices - is set to become the next big thing in the cell phone market if phone companies have their way.

The two mobile phone service providers, Celtel and Safaricom, have over the past one month launched a wide range of products geared towards increasing access to the Internet through cellphones with pricing as the battlefront.

This drive is not only hinged on continued growth in subscriber numbers, but also on the aggressive upgrading of networks for capacity to carry the traffic.

While this movement is unlikely to throw traditional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) out of business in the short-term, analysts believe quick mobile phone adoption could have a positive impact for players in both segments of the information technology industry, driving the rate of pick of Internet use among Kenyans and increase revenue growth for players.

Mr David Murray, the Celtel Kenya chief executive, says the company has identified an acute shortage of data transmission services in this region, which it hopes to help bridge with its services.

"We are merely taking advantage of the changing ability and capability of our networks," he said. "Internet accessibility is being positioned as a key revenue source in an increasingly competitive market.

Mr Murray's position is informed by the fact that changing dynamics of Kenya's telecoms industry- recently shaken by massive price drops - have had the double impact of increased competition and shrinking profit margins from the voice business.

Using a mobile phone to e-mail or browsing the Internet is generally considered a natural progression from the use of the short message service (SMS), that has proved to be popular with Kenyans.

Statistics indicate that an average of three million SMS messages are sent in Kenya every day - a figure that rises to more than 12 million on special occasions such as the New Years Eve and Christmas Day.

"We hope to de-mystify data to the average Kenyan. Most Kenyans have data enabled phones and can use the internet anytime anywhere in the country," said Ms Jackie Bitutu, Safaricom's product manager for Data.

Both Safaricom and Celtel recently launched new data products in the market touting speed and price as their competitive edge.

Celtel kicked off the race with a regional data roaming service accessible to all its subscribers at a cost of Sh30 per megabyte (MB) downloaded and Safaricom followed with a bundled deal that retails at Sh13 per megabyte.

While Celtel plans to target the small and medium sized business with its One Office service, Safaricom believes a more youthful audience will drive the fortunes of its new data offering, Bambanet.

"There has been an increase in the demand for data services. We have upcoming youth who are using Internet for research, term papers and downloading ring tones and other fun related content," said Ms Bitutu.

Mobile Internet users tend to fall into two categories; those who use their phone to surf and send emails and those who use their phone as a modem and browse on their computers or laptops.

Consumers need to use phones that are data-enabled to be able to access the internet, says Safaricom.

They can then connect to the internet using their data enabled phones via Bluetooth- a wireless connection- or using a data cable, allowing the phone to act as a modem Bambanet is available for both prepaid or postpaid consumers.

On both services, customers will have to purchase a USB modem. For pre-paid customers, the modem will cost Sh14,000 and they will have to top up according to demand to use the service using Safaricom scratch cards, charged Sh12.60 per MB.

Post-paid users will have to enter into a 12-month contract but can buy the modem at Sh5,999 and get assigned 700MB of free data usage every month. Once the customer exceeds the allocated usage then they are billed at Sh12.60 per MB.

For one MB, a surfer can expect to download 300 normal sized emails, or visit two websites with heavy graphics.

Analysts believe the mobile firms will find a ready market for internet services, spurred by the fact that most consumers on local loop networks such as Flashcom and Popote prefer to use their lines for data use.

Telkom Wireless, which currently offers data connectivity for Sh3 a minute, is reportedly planning to revamp its data offering to extend services to the growing number of mobile internet users on its CDMA platform.

The relative convenience of paying only for what you use is drawing consumers who are not prepared to dedicate a monthly contribution to traditional ISPs, and more open to browsing on the move.

In addition, phones on the market now support multiple technologies ranging from GSM and GPRS to CDMA, which offer wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and infra red, which allow the phone to communicate with a laptop or computer and act as a modem.

Yesterday, Nokia introduced Ovi, the company's new Internet services brand name. With the introduction of Ovi, Nokia is expanding from a focus on mobile devices to offering a range of Internet services.

Ovi, meaning "door" in Finnish, enables consumers to easily access their existing social network, communities and content, as well as acting as a gateway to Nokia services.