Aside from providing cell phones with 3G capabilities, Nokia is now also laying its hands on mobile broadband modems. Nokia’s vice president for hardware platform components Tapio Markki said in his interview with Reuters that the company is tapping its expertise in 3G technology and will start shipping its first mobile “dongles” or Internet stick in early 2009. Users will be able to connect to the internet via wireless broadband networks using HSPA. That is all Nokia revealed right now. No word as to how much the dongle will cost.

It’s really likely that Nokia is tapping into a gold mine here. The demand for internet access on the go is on the rise so for sure many people will be attracted to buying the Internet stick they will provide. According to research firm Strategy Analytics, the global market for USB modems and PC cards will grow up to 26 million in 2009. That will be a 6 million growth from this year’s 20 million.

Nokia will be competing with the current leader in this market Huawei.