WAP optimized for heavy traffic
Natasha Flaherty, Senior Marketing Manager, Unwired Planet Inc., Redwood City, Calif., natasha@uplanet.com
EE Times
March 22, 1999, Issue: 1053
Section: Communications -- Focus: Wireless Internet Access
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum was created to address the challenges of defining cost-effective protocols and content-description technologies to enable new data and telephony applications and services for wireless networks. The forum's primary goal is to bring together companies from all aspects of the wireless industry to ensure interoperability and growth. Today the forum consists of more than 90 members, including manufacturers representing more than 90 percent of the worldwide handset market. WAP has become the de facto industry standard for providing data to wireless handheld mobile terminals.
Currently, mass-market mobile phones have reached a threshold where there is now enough resident memory and processing power to deliver data in addition to voice traffic without adding extra cost to the handset. Essentially, WAP specifies a thin-client microbrowser optimized for wireless handheld mobile terminals. It also specifies a proxy server that acts as a gateway between the wireless network and the wire-line Internet, providing protocol translation and optimizing data transfer for the wireless handset.
By creating a net-centric computing paradigm based on the World Wide Web model within the wireless domain, WAP is enabling a revolution in the way people use their mobile phones. A greater range of applications is available for the mobile user, expanding possibilities for application deployment and new business models. Users can do more with a mobile phone than just place calls. They can check account balances without help from the operator's customer-care representative, send and receive complete e-mail messages with attachments, check a personalized stock portfolio or search for a desired restaurant, and then use one-touch calling to book a reservation.
Data, voice integration
WAP also specifies a computer-telephony integration API, called WTAI, between data and voice. This enables applications to take full advantage of the fact that this wireless mobile terminal is most often a phone and the mobile user's constant companion.
WAP can be used throughout a manufacturer's complete product line. High-end devices with additional CPUs or memory chips are not required for a complete implementation. WAP is optimized for the user's experience within the constraints of today's commonly available mass-market mobile handsets, including processor, memory, battery life, display, keypad and cost factors.
However, this is not to say that handset designs remain unchanged. In fact, this revolution in net-centric applications, content and increased range of user activities is also driving improvements in the wireless mobile terminal. For example, data capabilities can be built into the phone and displays can be made larger, bit mapped, tweaked to handle graphics and given scroll capabilities. In addition, on-board memory can be used for off-line content, enhanced address books, bookmarks and text-input methods.
What's more, handset and application-deployment costs have decreased, since applications are no longer stored in handset ROM and subject to costly upgrade procedures. Instead, they are stored in the network, where updates can be simply applied to the server.
Thus, WAP protocols are optimized for the reality of wireless networks and terminals. But even as wireless networks evolve, several challenges will always need to be addressed. For example, wireless network connections are not constant; mobile users will move in and out of coverage. Also, wireless networks have high latency problems when compared with the wire-line Internet. Finally, wireless networks are often a narrowband transport media. However, even if this is not the case, wireless network operators still desire an optimized transport solution because more customers can then be served using the same bandwidth.
Copyright (c) 1999 CMP Media Inc.
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