TABLE OF CONTENTS The previous section showed that anybody can build a Web site for delivering content to Internet users. There are many ways to charge for content, and there are many companies that will handle the payment transactions for the content provider. The most difficult aspect is really to find the content that has added value for the customers, so that they will pay for it.
Up until now we have tacitly assumed that the customer uses a PC to access the Internet and to access the content. However, what about users on the road that only have a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA)? Is it possible to deliver browsable or downloadable content to these users as well?
It is perfectly possible to deliver Internet content to mobile devices, but there are two important constraints. First, mobile devices have reduced input and output capabilities, typically a small screen and a reduced keyboard. And second, 2G and 2.5G bearers put severe limits on data rates, which are typically between 10 Kbps and 50 Kbps. [1]
WAP was designed in the late 1990s to bring hypertext content to mobile devices. The first generation of WAP V1. x specifications cannot really be called mobile Internet, since it does not necessarily use the IP. Moreover the name wireless application protocol wrongly suggests that it is a single protocol, while it is in fact a whole series of standards for transporting hypertext content over mobile networks and...
