WHEATON, Md.-Not even the faster speeds and packet-based design of GPRS networks can save the WAP standard, which is of such poor quality that operators will continue to be forced to improve it with proprietary WAP extensions, The Shosteck Group said in a recent report.
According to the unflinching report, WAP’s awkward interface and limited content will continue to plague operators and service providers, even with faster networks and WAP upgrades.
“Making the existing and generally quite poor WAP services easier to access will not, by itself, make them substantially more attractive to subscribers,” said Jane Zweig, the group’s chief executive officer. “GPRS addresses the speed of access, not what is accessed.”
Zweig said that even if end users purchase new handsets that support GPRS WAP, sluggish WAP gateways will still create the latency issues that troubled the early adoption of WAP services.
The Shosteck Group’s report finds that a new business model will likely develop, with companies using proprietary WAP extensions to smooth over the standard’s failings. However, even this move will not smooth over all the problems limiting the uptake of wireless data services.
“Embracing proprietary extensions may also fragment the market, resulting in slower overall adoption for the industry-as well as a host of other problems such as interoperability across networks,” the group said in a release.
“But technology and standards aren’t the whole picture, and not even the most important pieces,” Zweig said. “The key to a successful wireless Internet is the same as it was 10 years ago before the popularization of the wired Internet: meaningful services delivered in a user-friendly and cost-effective way in an open standards environment in which everyone can join-the Internet model.”
The study, called “WAP: The Value Chain Doesn’t Stand Still,” echoes many industry concerns about the effectiveness of the WAP standard.
