The Wireless Application Protocol
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a global standard for bringing Internet content and services to mobile phones and other wireless devices. The WAP standards are maintained by an industry consortium called the WAP Forum. Founded by Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia, and Phone.com (Unwired Planet) in June 1997, WAP Forum membership now exceeds 500 organizations, representing over 95 percent of the global handset market. The WAP Forum also includes members who are infrastructure providers, software companies, and content providers. The goal of the WAP Forum is to address the problems of wireless Internet access, ensuring that such access is not limited by bearer, vendor, or underlying network technology. WAP has been accepted as a de facto industry standard, and it is estimated that 95 percent of smart phones shipped to the United States and Western Europe in 2003 will be WAP-enabled (source: Strategy Analytics).