The advent of Wireless Applications Protocol (WAP) is currently creating huge interest in the field of wireless data application solutions, and is often being regarded as "the next revolution" - the ultimate solution in the quest to bring Internet connectivity to the mass market. It is true that WAP will soon change our cellular phones from voice transmission to data transmission communications tool, but when and how will this seemingly complicated technology impact the average South African cellphone user?
With the country`s total number of Internet dial-up subscribers, or actual home-users, reaching a mere 558 000, it is clear that there is indeed a need to bring the Internet closer to home for many South Africans. The reason for this low number of subscribers is evident: many people don`t have access to the Internet at work or at home, while others can simply not afford computers and the required software.
Mass market
However, with some 2,4-million South Africans currently subscribing to cellphones, the groundwork has already been laid to take these masses into the next era where a mobile phone is soon to become the only link between the user and the World Wide Web.
"The WAP solution is key in providing interconnectivity to the mass market in places such as Africa and Asia, where cellular users far outnumber actual Internet users," according to Gary Cousins of Siemens Information and Communication Networks.
"Your cellular handset immediately takes you onto the next step towards interconnectivity," Cousins says. "With the right handset such as the Siemens S25 - one of the first available cellular phones in South Africa with an Internet browsing feature - you won`t need computer hardware for Internet browsing," Cousins explain.
E-mail via cellphone
One simple example that illustrates the practical implication of WAP is that everyone with a cellular phone can now have an e-mail address, without the necessity of owning or having access to a computer. Once a personal e-mail address is accessed, unread e-mail messages will be forwarded as text to the WAP compatible cellular phone. The user will be able to reply to the sender by typing in a written message on the cellular handset.
"Basically, the cellular handset is used to dial into the Internet server via the wireless mark-up language (WML), a specific language for wireless applications which allows the network operator to release web information in a modified format which is then displayed on the cellular handset," he says.
Obviously the cellular handset won`t be able to carry the Web page format complete with pictures and special effects. The information will be downloaded from the relevant site and is displayed almost like in a stack of cards. Once the user has identified a certain option, the screen will display the next set of options until the relevant information has been downloaded in a brief and clear summarised format. There will be no need to scroll down screens-full of complicated instructions or irrelevant information, which in its turn saves the user cellular airtime.
To illustrate this, one can, for example, dial into the World Cup Rugby website by typing in the words "World Cup Rugby". A range of options will appear on your screen, such as specific matches, venues, players, match statistics, and half-time and final scores. The required information will instantly appear on your screen by continuing to select specific options.
Other WAP-compatible services include the retrieval of news headlines, traffic and weather reports, and Internet banking.
WAP will not come cheap
One can imagine the potential WAP holds for future wireless mobile applications, but it would be unrealistic to expect that this technology will impact the mass market in a revolutionary way within the next eight to twelve months, according to Cousins.
"Certain 'killer-applications` such as e-mail retrieval via your cellphone, and the download of news headlines, sports results or share price information, will most certainly capture the imagination of thousands of cellphone users who don`t have access to a computer," Cousins continues.
"And, of course, WAP will not come cheap," he warns. "First, you have to have the right cellular handset, then the additional airtime spent on the handset will also add an extra couple of hundred rands on your phone bill every month - depending on how often you use the WAP Internet browsing facility," he says.
"But we`re still a long way away from making WAP an everyday communications tool for every cellphone user. It is difficult to make the WAP technology come alive for everyone - especially when many of us find it hard even to set up a voice-mailbox on our personal phones!" he concluded.
Siemens has been the first to conduct it`s own WAP trial in South Africa, and will be launching WAP early next year after the WAP Gateway has been installed and tested on the cellular network. The WAP Gateway ultimately enables information to pass through from the Internet to the cellular network, and onto the cellular handsets of the end-users.
Billing of airtime in terms of costs has not yet been defined, but will be charged to the user`s cellular phone bill automatically every month. It is also to be expected that WAP solution packages will be offered on a "corporate" basis, which means that special offers will be directed to corporate users for specific applications such as e-mail retrieval and directory enquiries.
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