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October 18, 1999

New Standard To Bolster Wireless Internet Transactions
Wireless Application Protocol delivers content to handheld computers and phones

By Brian Riggs with Tischelle George, Paul McDougall, Bob Wallace, and Rick Whiting

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endors and service providers are paving the way for companies to conduct online transactions with customers via cellular handsets and give employees access to company E-mail accounts wherever their wireless phone service is available. At the root of the mobile Internet access revolution is the Wireless Application Protocol, and last week hardware companies, software developers, and service providers detailed plans to support the emerging standard.

IBM said it will license Nokia's WAP Server software, initially offering it on its Netfinity line of servers in the fourth quarter. "When a PC is connected to a server, you speak IP all the way, and what you send down the wire is HTML," says Ajei Gopal, director of technology for IBM's Pervasive Computing group. "But in the wireless world, you're dealing with a phone with a very limited capability, and with limited bandwidth. So it's not an IP protocol you need between the device and the network, it's the WAP protocol."

WAP lets microbrowsers built into handheld devices access Web sites by converting HTML into WML, the Wireless Markup Language, which strips out bandwidth-intensive graphics that are incompatible with small screens and take too long to download using low-speed wireless connections. (For more details on WAP, see informationweek.com/author/internet.htm.)

Hewlett-Packard said it would also resell Nokia's WAP Server, and 24 communications companies, including Nokia and Motorola, teamed with the vendor to deliver mobile services based on WAP and HP's E-speak middleware.

Users can expect an array of WAP handhelds: Motorola says by year's end, it will roll out cell phones displaying HTML- or WML-compatible content. 3Com's Palm Computing division is working with Nokia and Symbian Ltd. on WAP-compliant telephones and personal digital assistants. Nokia is expected to debut WAP handsets this year in Europe and next year in the United States; Alcatel SA's WAP phone ships this month; and Ericsson Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. are working on WAP products.

Service providers in the United States have already begun providing wireless Internet services. Last month, Sprint PCS launched its Wireless Web service, based on pre-standard WAP software from Phone.com Inc. Users can view content from Bloomberg.com, CNN Mobile, and other companies that have engineered their Web sites for Phone.com's software. Last week, Sprint PCS said that Ameritrade Inc. customers can use the service to make stock trades. BellSouth Corp., which also uses Phone.com's server software, will begin trials of WAP services this month. Users will have access to news, weather, stock quotes, and E-mail and scheduling services.

A growing number of companies, including Amazon.com, Charles Schwab, and eBay, are investigating WAP as a way to let mobile users conduct stock trades and online transactions.

Photo by Alan Blaustein E-Trade Group Inc. will deliver offerings for wireless platforms next year, says Pam Kramer, VP of digital financial media. "It's a huge opportunity because we can do business with a customer wherever he or she is," she says.

But establishing secured transactions for WAP devices is an issue. "There is no security inherent to WAP," says Meta Group analyst Michael King. Developers are expected to build security into their WAP applications, he says. Cliff Reeser, E-Trade's director of information security, says he's looking at ways to support end-to-end security for the services the online broker is planning, but declined to provide details.

Microsoft, though a WAP forum member, is moving forward with its own plans: Last week, it unveiled a wireless phone prototype running a version of Windows CE. It has a color display and lets mobile users access company E-mail and calendar apps. The device is based on XML, not WML-- triggering industry criticism that Microsoft is trying to dominate the market with its own technology.

The Microsoft phone is expected to work with Exchange E-mail servers, which by next year will support connections to cellular networks. Software and specifications for the phone will be available next year to cell-phone vendors and application developers. Last week, BT contracted with Microsoft to create handsets and services for the devices.

Photo by Alan Blaustein

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