It will be Haji-Ioannou's first foray into the telecoms business

If the deal takes place it will be the first time the Easy brand has entered the mobile telephone market.

The FT reports that the group's founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou is keen to launch the service in time for Christmas.

Under the scheme, Easy Group will rent air-space from T-Mobile in the same way as is currently done by Virgin Mobile.

Orange challenge

The FT quotes people near to the negotiations, who say that T-Mobile and Danish telecoms operator TDC have agreed on wholesale tariffs for an EasyMobile service.

TDC signed a deal in August allowing it to market cut-price services under the Easy brand.

Last-minute negotiations on how widely the EasyMobile brand can be used are reportedly still taking place.

"We can't give any details... but we can confirm there are plans to launch EasyMobile," Robby Bourlas who is managing the launch of EasyMobile told BBC News.

Selling just sim cards from a website with cheap pre-paid airtime is the most efficient way to use mobile telephony Mr Haji-Ioannou, Easyjet founder

EasyMobile plans to copy elements of the group's low-cost airline model.

Customers, for example, will probably only be able to sign up to EasyMobile online.

Analysts say that savings made on distribution will be passed onto the consumer in the form of cheaper calls.

It is also expected that EasyMobile will only sell SIM cards, the removable memory chips that fit into the back of mobile phones and contain user identity codes and relevant personal data, and stay away from selling phones.

"Selling just SIM cards from a website with cheap pre-paid airtime is the most efficient way to use mobile telephony," Mr Haji-Ioannou was quoted as saying in August.

"It's not just a low-cost model. It's about giving good value for money compared to everything else that's around, " Mr Bourlas said, adding that Easy Group would be taking inspiration from TDC's model in Denmark.

However, well-established mobile operators Orange and Vodafone are may obstruct Easy Group's entrance into the UK's mobile market.

When the Easy Group's mobile phone aspirations were first revealed back in August, Orange, the UK's largest mobile phone network, warned that it would block any plans by Easy Group to use the colour orange in its mobile phone livery.

The Easy Group, set up to extend the Easyjet brand, already covers hotels, car rental and internet services.