Chapter 22: WAP: Transitional Technology for M-Commerce

Mahesh S. Raisinghani

Abstract

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is the most-popular Internet-enabling technology being adopted en masse by handset manufacturers and service providers alike. The International Data Corporation promises 1 billion cellular telephones worldwide by 2004, with half of them Internet-enabled. This chapter discusses the fast-growing trend for WAP tools to access the Internet versus the current predominant use of personal computers. The chapter describes also the importance of WAP in the field of E-commerce, with its popularity leading E-commerce into mobile commerce (M-commerce). Because it works in already existing networks, WAP needs little modification in Web content and can be available with ease. Already, there are numerous companies providing E-commerce services through WAP around the world, and with the huge mobile telephone subscriber base, the potential for M-commerce is tremendous.