Overview

The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a concerted attempt to develop and implement a standard for communicating information between wireless devices and the Internet. WAP has enjoyed fairly broad industry support, with major contributions from manufacturers Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Phone.com (formerly Unwired Planet). These principal organizations created the WAP Forum in the summer of 1997.1 Since its inception, the Forum has grown to well over 350 commercial firms. WAP is promulgated to:

• Improve productivity and service. Real-time information is available anytime, anywhere within the organization, greatly enhancing workforce flexibility and mobility.

• Improve infrastructure installation speed, simplicity, and costs. Eliminate pulling cable through conduit, walls, and ceilings.

Because wireless technology provides so many advantages (including portability, mobility, timeliness, and ease of installation), its disadvantages (including security and limited spectrum availability) are being aggressively attacked by proponents. To judge from actions, the industry agrees that the potential rewards of a robust wireless IT capability far exceed the risk of information loss and capital investment. A real question remains, however, as to whether WAP was ready for prime time when first deployed in 1999 and 2000. Wireless devices, as desirable as they are, start out with limitations that make them awkward for communications applications:

• Small display capabilities

• Limited processing capabilities

• Clumsy input devices

• Low bandwidth only about 9600 bps

The WAP Forum aimed not at reengineering devices, but at promoting a standard specification for the technology used to develop applications, services, and platforms that operate...