WAP Background

Motivation

WAP is positioned at the convergence of three rapidly evolving network technologies, wireless data, telephony, and the Internet. Both the wireless data market and the Internet are growing very quickly and are continuing to reach new customers. The growth of the Internet has fuelled the creation of new and exciting information services. Most of the original technology developed for the Internet has been designed for desktop and larger computers and medium to high bandwidth, generally reliable data networks. Mass-market, hand-held wireless devices present a more constrained computing environment compared to desktop computers. Because of fundamental limitations of power and form-factor, mass-market handheld devices tend to have:

• Less powerful CPUs,

• Less memory (ROM and RAM),

• Restricted power consumption,

• Smaller displays, and

• Different input devices (e.g., a phone keypad).

Similarly, wireless data networks present a more constrained communication environment compared to wired networks.

Because of fundamental limitations of power, available spectrum, and mobility, wireless data networks tend to have:

• Less bandwidth,

• More latency,

• Less connection stability, and

• Less predictable availability.

Mobile networks are growing in complexity and the cost of all aspects of providing value-added services is increasing. In order to meet the requirements of mobile network operators, solutions must be:

• Interoperable  Terminals from different manufacturers communicate with services in the mobile network;

• Scaleable  Mobile network operators are able to scale services to customer needs;

• Efficient  Provides quality of service suited to the behaviour and characteristics of the mobile network;

• Reliable  Provides a consistent and predictable platform for deploying services; and

• Secure  Enables services to be extended over potentially unprotected mobile networks while still preserving the integrity of user data; protects the devices and services from security problems such as loss of confidentiality.

Many of the current mobile networks include advanced services that can be offered to end-users. Mobile network operators strive to provide advanced services in a useable and attractive way in order to promote increased usage of the mobile network services and to decrease the turnover rate of subscribers. Standard features, like call control, can be enhanced by using WAP technology to provide customised user interfaces. For example, services such as call forwarding may provide a user interface that prompts the user to make a choice between accepting a call, forwarding to another person, forwarding it to voice mail, etc. The nature of wireless devices is that they are inherently mobile. This mobility introduces new opportunities for services that are sensitive to mobility and can provide location-dependent information. The WAP specifications and architecture capitalize on this unique aspect of wireless devices by including mobility as part of the application model.

The WAP specifications address mobile network characteristics and operator needs by adapting existing network technology to the special requirements of mass-market, hand-held wireless data devices and by introducing new technology where appropriate. The WAP specifications will accommodate a range of devices, from devices that provide very basic functionality to devices that continue to expand their capabilities. This motivates an architecture where functionality may be moved to different locations within the network as appropriate, i.e. either to devices or to network servers as necessary.

Architectural Goals

The goals of the WAP Forum architecture are as follows. This summary is informative and non-exhaustive; the order of the items does not represent any priority or importance.

• Provide a web-centric application model for wireless data services that utilizes the telephony, mobility, and other unique functions of wireless devices and networks and allows maximum flexibility and ability for vendors to enhance the user experience.

• Enable the personalization and customization of the device, the content delivered to it, and the presentation of the content.

• Provide support for secure and private applications and communication in a manner that is consistent and interoperable with Internet security models.

• Enable wireless devices and networks that are currently or in the near future being deployed, including a wide variety of bearers from narrow-band to wide-band.

• Provide secure access to local handset functionality.

• Facilitate network-operator and third party service provisioning.

• Define a layered, scaleable and extensible architecture.

• Leverage existing standards where possible, especially existing and evolving Internet standards.