Wireless web: a load of WAP?

Welcome to the world of WAP
WAP is not the only version of wireless data transfer
Science fiction comes to life

By: Catharine Shaw

According to the advertisements appearing in magazines of late its possible to receive and send email in the back of a cab, check stocks and share markets while walking down the street and even book flight tickets en route to the airport.

Welcome to the world of WAP

In theory it should soon be feasible to arrive in a foreign city armed only with a cell phone and not only find your way around, but also locate branches of your favorite department stores, find a place to stay and even a café or bar and someone suitable to invite for a drink.

The reality of these claims is an expensive and time-consuming experiment into data transfer through the airwaves - or if you prefer, waiting an inordinate amount of time to get access to a fraction of the information available from a PC through a mobile phone. But put into context, this is a pretty impressive feat considering the only piece of equipment involved is a six inch piece of plastic with no wires to connect it to any regular network. Welcome to the world of WAP.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has made our reliance on phone jacks and cables a thing of the past, if the hype is to be believed. The way WAP works is similar to making a regular call from a cell phone. The data being sent and received from the unit is carried as a digital signal across the airwaves, so far in approach to a normal call. Once the data is received by a cell phone transmitter it is sent to a server machine run by the network provider. This server is connected to the Internet like a regular PC server but it also plays host to a WAP gateway. The gateway is in effect a piece of software that strips all of the formatting and graphics from the web page by converting the HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) code of the site to WML (Wireless Markup Language). This WML code is then sent via the wireless network back to the mobile unit, which then displays the text on the cell phone screen.

This access is limited at best and is restricted to specially designed WAP-friendly sites or those that have no pictorial links (which cannot be converted to WML). As a result many sites are inaccessible to the system and so only a fraction of the facilities provided by the Internet can be accessed in this way. Although countless firms are waiting until clear benefits are visible before taking the next step, some organizations are investing in parallel WAP-friendly sites (some 2.4 million in June of this year - see www.Pinpoint.com).

WAP is not the only version of wireless data transfer

WAP is not the only version of wireless data transfer. While it has become standard throughout Europe, the US has its own version, HDML (Handheld Device Markup Language). Though not greatly technologically dissimilar, the primary difference between the two is the ownership right: WAP is a freely-held, or open, standard contrasting to Phone.com's HDML. Switching to the former would reduce divisions and introduce a global standard, but would cost HDML service providers in the replacement of outdated or incompatible equipment.

But the hype behind WAP cannot resolve the difficulties and reservations the everyday user faces when considering their phone bill. When it costs $4 and 10 minutes to send an email or takes half an hour to book tickets for the latest John Woo, many users will simply use alternative technologies. Why bother with the Internet when it would be cheaper, quicker and easier to call, using the primary function of the cell phone.

Current technology allows for a wireless download rate of around 10 kilobits per second. Compare this to the standard 56 kilobits for a wired modem and the difference in speed, and thus cost of access, is clear. With a screen of between two and five lines, and no graphical display or animation, the visual element of the Internet is also lost in the transition between cyberspace and the cell phone.

Such disadvantages don't seem to bother the 10 million iMode cell phone owners in Japan. Since its release in February 1999, the email-phone has made parent telecommunications company NTT DoCoMo the leading Internet service provider in the country.

Statistics seem to indicate that the relatively cheap call costs (around 20 cents to make a quick call and a penny to send an email) have promoted this communication medium in the Far East. Conversely, the prohibitively high cost per call to send the messages have made their American counterparts think twice. Indeed in Finland and Sweden, where cell phone-saturation reaches 66.7% and 57.8% respectively the call charges are the lowest anywhere in the world.

Science fiction comes to life

Whatever the criticisms of current wireless technology, its successor is only a mouse click away. Already many mobile communication firms are developing and hyping their version of third generation (3G) technologies. Of course, with all of these different companies competing for prominence it seems as if a global standard for 3G devices will be a long time coming.

But when they arrive - as they finally must - the 3G devices may mean science fiction comes to life. In Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", the guide is a portable, wireless device which calculates the user's location and displays information about the area. Already offered in a rudimentary form by several European telecommunication firms, the 3G developers promise a more accurate location and extended data access capabilities. Current technology allows placement to around 200 metres in cities and 1.2 kilometres in rural areas. Future devices may lower this distance to a couple of metres no matter where you are.

Until 3G arrives though, portable web browsers are doomed to be expensive, slow and maybe not worth the effort. Perhaps for now the cables and wires are so bad after all.

Catherine Shaw is The Galt Global Review's new IT writer. If you would like to see a specific topic covered email her at infotech@galtglobalreview.com.

© Copyright 2001. Galt Western Personnel Ltd. Unless otherwise specified, you may reprint this article, quote from it, use it in research or projects, duplicate it or distribute it. Credit of authorship and source MUST be given to galtglobalreview.com. Ownership of Copyright remains with Galt Western Personnel Ltd.

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