Wap wars as Telecom moves in

By PETER SINCLAIR

Telecom is assessing the potential of wap (wireless application protocol) on mobile phones with an open trial using its existing CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) network.

A cross-section of business and corporate clients are being invited to test the system because it is in this area that Telecom sees immediate potential for the protocol, rather than among home users.

Stock quotes, mobile banking, instant credit-processing and other services are being investigated.

Compared with Vodafone, which already offers wap over its existing mobile network, Telecom is late to the market.

But wap on the CDPD network provides a glimpse of how the next-generation networks from both Telecom and Vodafone will connect the user permanently to the internet whenever the mobile is switched on.

Telecom's $200 million CDMA One (code division multiple access) mobile network due around the middle of next year will have the always-on feature, as will Vodafone's $10 million GPRS (general packet radio service) due by the end of this year.

For the CDPD trial, however, full functionality is not yet established - meaning voice and data transmission cannot be accessed simultaneously.

Nor is reception possible at all in some city areas - my own trial involved moving farther and farther from my Herne Bay home until a connection at last became possible in a Ponsonby Rd cafe.

No pricing structure has been established. Telecom is considering a flat-rate system and a charging structure based on data-volume.

The network can distinguish between voice and data calls, so there will probably be two parallel but differing rates. The biggest problem using wap-capable mobiles is punching in the web address using the phone's keypad - a frustrating and always time-consuming process.

It is here that Vodafone's wap service has the edge - allowing users to preset their wap sites by cutting and pasting addresses into the My Vodafone website from a PC.

Telecom's list of preset sites is dominated by the wap-enabled presence of its own Xtra, but users also have the ability to surf the net with the help of wap-enabled search engines such as Google.

Entering the world of wap searches is both an interesting and rewarding experience. "Auckland" produces dozens of websites ranging from the Auckland City Council to the Warriors and flight times at Auckland Airport.

Since the protocol strips out frames and graphics, it is best to stick to wap-enabled sites or bleak but information-rich sites created entirely of text and links.

But even then the small screen of the Ericsson phone I was using often reduced surfing to a laborious line-by-line, even word-by-word process.

My experience with Vodafone's large-screen Nokia 7110 was more satisfactory in this respect.

Links


My Vodafone

target=_"new">Google


View wap demonstration

Download yourwap to view wapsites in your web browser

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