How it Works: Wireless Application Protocol

The Web, Wirelessly

The promise and the practice of WAP are far apart. WAP mobile phones haven't been hot sellers. Jim Cummiskey, director of consulting for Mobile Insights, estimates that only about 5 percent of the approximately 350 million mobile phones in use worldwide support WAP. None of the analysts we spoke to would guess how many of those WAP phones are actually used for Web access.

And because designers have to create Web pages that adhere to strict guidelines in order for them to work with WAP, you can access only a fraction of Web sites with a WAP phone. Mobile Insight's Cummiskey says that of the approximately one billion Web sites, only about 1.5 million are WAP-enabled.

WAP phones are widely available from all major mobile-phone makers including Motorola and Nokia, and usually retail for between $150 and $250 (when purchased along with a wireless service contract). A WAP phone may have a few extra keys to help you navigate a page, but the numeric keypad is still the main means of sending requests.

To get onto the Net, you'll need a Wireless Web service such as Sprint PCS Wireless Web. At press time, services and coverage are spotty, mainly limited to major U.S. metropolitan areas. And not all carriers offer WAP services in all areas.

Additionally, wireless Web services fetch a premium over voice-only mobile plans, although that's expected to change. For example, Sprint PCS Wireless Web costs $49.99 a month for 300 minutes of use, $10 more than voice-only service.

Sites to See

The list of things you can do with a WAP phone is slowly increasing as WAP sites and services roll out. E-mail is standard with most services, and you can get some basic information such as news (from CNN.com), weather (from Weather.com), and financial information ( from Bloomberg.com), to name a few.

In addition, Yahoo! offers a portal specifically for wireless users. E-commerce applications, not surprisingly, are also starting to become available. Amazon was one of the first Web retailers to offer WAP services, and this summer, Charles Schwab will launch its PocketBroker investing service for WAP-enabled phones.

Trends in wireless devices are likely to encourage the use of WAP. Upcoming mobile phones with built-in GPS receivers that pinpoint your location will allow you to automatically receive, for example, restaurant information or travel directions.

But for the longer term, the future of WAP is a bit hazy. Higher-speed wireless networks (up to 1 mbps) will start to become available in the next two to three years, as will better WAP devices with larger screens (some with color). When it comes to wireless, analysts agree that it's not likely to be a one-size-fits-all world. Carl Zetie, an analyst for Giga Information Group, says it's just not clear what wireless services people will use. The future of WAP is still up in the air.

Additional Information:

• The WAP Forum's white papers