LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Britain's anti-trust regulator

said it would begin two investigations this month using its new

powers over the biggest tech firms, which are aimed at

stimulating investment, innovation and growth.

The CMA will designate firms as having "Strategic Market

Status" (SMS) in relation to a particular digital activity

before they can be investigated. The bar for SMS status is high,

with only the largest, most influential tech firms affected.

The CMA said in November it believed Apple ( AAPL ) could be

holding back innovation in smartphone browsers, and said it

could investigate Apple's ( AAPL ) and Google's duopoly in mobile

ecosystems following the launch of its new powers, which came

into force this month.

It said on Tuesday it expected to start investigations in

two areas of digital activity this month, on which it will

provide details in due course, and after about six months, it

would launch an investigation into a third area.

Each investigation will be completed in a statutory time

limit of nine months, the CMA added.

Amongst the regime's considerations would likely be ensuring

large players do not shut out smaller competitors by

preferencing their own services; making it easier for people to

switch digital providers without losing data and driving growth

by enabling more effective competition.

The CMA, which has played a bigger role in merger control

since Britain left the European Union, was told by Prime

Minister Keir Starmer in October to take growth more seriously.

It said that the new regime would seek to maximise the

attractiveness of Britain to tech companies while also ensuring

choice and competitive prices.