Is WAP pap?

WAP is one of the best known acronyms to have ever been put out by technologists - and let's face it, there are plenty of them to go around.

But having successfully marketed Wireless Application Protocol, its public image is now taking a dramatic battering. And it isn't hard to see why.

First of all, WAP-enabled handsets were late to market, and when they did arrive they were faulty (one operator had to recall a batch). That led to a shortage which users are still feeling.

The lucky few that managed to find themselves a phone are frequently frustrated by browser crashes, slow speeds, and an inability to access so-called WAP-enabled sites.

Many of these problems will be resolved with the launch of high-speed, packet-based GPRS. In fact, the success of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode technology - a potential international rival to the WAP standard - in Japan is largely due to the fact that it runs on packet-based networks.

And the WAP Forum argues that necessary groundwork has already been done through its certification scheme - it claims more than 60,000 developers have registered to develop WAP products at various members' sites.

But how long will it be before the result of that work is felt by the average WAP user? Scott Goldman, the Forum's CEO, was reluctant to say.

User expectations are already too high to be met by existing technology. Members of the WAP Forum need to act much more quickly if they are to prevent users becoming disillusioned and looking at alternatives.

However, the problem of faulty handsets and poor code writing will pale into insignificance when GPRS services become available and the issue of packet-based billing raises its head. All eyes will be on BT Cellnet from the end of the month, not only to see potential improvement in services, but also to see how the telco decides to charge for it.