WAPWireless Application Protocol

4
WAP bridges the gap between the wireless mobile world and the internet. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) , is a collection of protocols and transport layers which allow mobile and portable communication devices such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA s), to receive information over the airwaves such as personal computers users obtain information over the internet. . WAP is simply a protocol! a standardi"ed way that a mobile phone tal#s to a server installed in the mobile phone networ#.

WAP

Abstract

WAP bridges the gap between the wireless mobile world and the internet. The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) , is a collection of protocols and transport layers which allow mobile and portable communication devices such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA s), to receive information over the airwaves such as personal computers users obtain information over the internet. . WAP is simply a protocol! a standardi"ed way that a mobile phone tal#s to a server installed in the mobile phone networ#.

Introduction
WAP is a hot topic that has been widely hyped in the mobile industry and outside of it. $t has become imperative for all $nformation Technology companies in %ordic countries and beyond to have a WAP division. &any advertising agencies and 'dotcoms' have announced WAP services. (rom the user)s perspective, using WAP is much li#e surfing the net on a personal computer* the mobile device is fitted with a small, or not so small, display which can be used +ust li#e a des#top browser. $nformation sources can be selected which are then downloaded and their content is displayed. ,yper Te-t lin#s and buttons can then be pressed to move around from page to page in a very simple way. $n this respect, there is very little difference between WAP browsing and des#top surfing, but, behind the scenes there are considerable differences because of the medium through which the information must travel, over radio waves rather than along hard!wired or telephone lines.

Importance of WAP

WAP

$t provides a standardi"ed way of lin#ing the $nternet to mobile phones, thereby lin#ing two of the hottest industries anywhere.

$ts founder members include the ma+or wireless vendors of %o#ia, .ricsson and &otorola, plus a newcomer Phone.com.

/ompared to the wired networ#s there are many constraints in this wireless world. 0 1ess band width 0 &ore latency 0 1ess connection stability 0 1ess predictable availability .$n order to meet the re2uirements for mobile operations the solutions must be3 $nter operable!terminals from different manufacturers are able to communicate with the services in the mobile networ#s. 4calable!mobile networ# operators are able to scale services to customer needs. .fficient!provides 2uality of services suited to the behavior and characteristics of the mobile world. 5eliable!provides a consistent and predictable platform for deploying services. 4ecure!enables services to be e-tended over potentially unprotected mobile networ#s while still preserving the integrity of user data, protects the devices and services from security problems such as denial of service. WAP also has its detractors and controversies3

$t is very difficult to configure WAP phones for new WAP services, with 67 or so different parameters needing to be entered to gain access to a WAP service.

WAP

/ompared with the installed base of 4hort &essage 4ervice (4&4) compliant phones, the relative number of handsets supporting WAP is tiny. WAP is a protocol that runs on top of an underlying bearer. %one of the e-isting 84& bearers for WAP! the 4hort &essage 4ervice (4&4), 9nstructured 4upplementary 4ervices Data (944D) and /ircuit 4witched Data (/4D) are optimi"ed for WAP.

There are many WAP 8ateway vendors out there competing against each other with largely the same standardi"ed product. This has led to consolidation such as the pending ac2uisition of APi:% by Phone.com.

:ther protocols such as 4$& Application Tool#it and &obile 4tation Application .-ecution .nvironment (&e-.) are respectively already widely supported or designed to supercede WAP.

WAP services are e-pected to be e-pensive to use since the tendency is to be on! line for a long /ircuit 4witched Data (/4D) call as the end user uses features such as interactivity and selection of more information. Without specific tariff initiatives, there are li#ely to be some surprised WAP users when they see their mobile phone bill for the first time after starting using WAP.

Infrastructure of WAP

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WM

Filter
HTM WM

WM

Web server
HTM

WAP Proxy
WM

Filter WAP Proxy

TeleVAS Server
WM

W&13 Wireless &ar#up 1anguage3 A Tag based display language providing navigational support, data input, hyper lin#s, te-t and image representation and forms. ,T&13 ,yper Te-t &ar#up 1anguage Tele;A43 Telephony ;alue Added 4ervice
The Wireless Application Protocol embraces and e-tends the previously conceived and developed wireless data protocols. Phone.com created a version of the standard ,T&1 (,yper Te-t &ar#up 1anguage) $nternet protocols designed specifically for effective and cost!effective information transfer across mobile networ#s. Wireless terminals incorporated a ,D&1 (,andheld Device &ar#up 1anguage) microbrowser, and Phone.com)s ,andheld Device Transport Protocol (,DTP) then lin#ed the terminal to the

WAP
9P. 1in# 4erver 4uite which connected to the $nternet or intranet where the information being re2uested resides. The $nternet site content was tagged with ,D&1. This technology was incorporated into WAP! and renamed using some of the many WAP!related acronyms such as W&14, WTP and W4P. 4omeone with a WAP! compliant phone uses the in!built microbrowser to3 <. &a#e a re2uest in W&1 (Wireless &ar#up 1anguage), a language derived from ,T&1 especially for wireless networ# characteristics. 6. This re2uest is passed to a WAP 8ateway that then retrieves the information from an $nternet server either in standard ,T&1 format or preferably directly prepared for wireless terminals using W&1. $f the content being retrieved is in ,T&1 format, a filter in the WAP 8ateway may try to translate it into W&1. A W&1 scripting language is available to format data such as calendar entries and electronic business cards for direct incorporation into the client device. =. The re2uested information is then sent from the WAP 8ateway to the WAP client, using whatever mobile networ# bearer service is available and most appropriate.

WAP P!"T"#" STA#$

WAP has a layered architecture as shown in the diagram below3

Wireless Application .nvironment (WA.) Wireless 4ession Protocol (W4P) Wireless Transaction Protocol (WTP) Wireless Transport 1ayer 4ecurity (WT14) Wireless Datagram Protocol (WDP) >earers eg3 Data, 4&4, 944D
4

WAP

WTP provides the protocol that allows for interactive browsing (re2uest?response) applications. $t supports three transaction classes3 unreliable with no result message, reliable with no result message, and reliable with one reliable result message. .ssentially, WTP defines the transaction environment in which clients and servers will interact and e-change data. The WDP layer operates above the bearer layer used by your communications provider. Therefore, this additional layer allows applications to operate transparently over varying bearer services. While WDP uses $P as the routing protocol, unli#e the Web, it does not use T/P. $nstead, it uses 9DP (9ser Datagram Protocol) which does not re2uire messages to be split into multiple pac#ets and sent out only to be reassembled on the client. Due to the nature of wireless communications, the mobile application must be tal#ing directly to a WAP gateway (as opposed to being routed through myriad WAP access points across the wireless Web) which greatly reduces the overhead re2uired by T/P. (or secure communications, WT14 is available to provide security. $t is based on 441 and T14.

COMPONENTS AND INTERFACES OF WAP ARCHITECTURE

A-SAP

WAP
Additional services and applications

Application 1ayer(WA.)
S-SAP

4ession 1ayer (W4P) Transaction 1ayer (WTP)

TRSAP

4ecurity 1ayer (WT14)

Transport 1ayer (WDP) W/&P >earer 4ervices. SECSAP /4D,944D,8P54 4&4,

W$5.1.44 APP1$/AT$:% .%;$5:%&.%T3
The WA. defines the user interface on the phone. The application development environment to facilitate the development of services that support multiple T-SAP bearers. To achieve this, the WA. contains the Wireless &ar#up 1anguage (W&1), W&14cript! a scripting micro!language similar to @ava4cript! and the Wireless Telephony Application (WTA). These are the tools that allow WAP!based applications to be developed.

WAP
The Wireless Application .nvironment (WA.) is the top!most level in the WAP architecture. $t is based on WWW and &obile Telephony technologies. The primary ob+ective of the WA. is to provide the operators and service providers an interoperable environment on which they can build applications and services which, in turn, can be used in a wide variety of hand!held client terminals. WA. includes the micro!browser that contains functionality for using not only W&1 and W&1 4cript as previously stated, but also Wireless Telephony Application, namely (WTA and WTA$) !telephony services and programming interfaces as well as content formats including well!defined data formats, images, phone boo# records and calendar information. The main idea behind the wireless application environment is to create a general application environment based mainly on e-isting technologies and philosophies of the World Wide Web .this environment should allow service providers, software manufactures or hardware vendors to integrate their application so they can reach a wide variety of different wireless platforms in an efficient way. ,owever, WA. does not dictate or assume any specific man!machine!interface model, but allows for a variety of devices, each with its own capabilities and probability vendor!specific e-tras. WA. has already integrated the following technologies and adapted them for use in wireless environment with low power handled devices. ,T&1, +ava script, ,D&1 forms the basis of the wireless mar#up language and the scripting language W&1script. The e-change formats for the business cards and phone boo#s vcard and for calendars vcalendar have been included. 951s #nown from the web can be used. (urthermore, a wide range of mobile telecommunication technologies have been adopted and integrated into the wireless telephony application. >esides relying on mature and established technology, WA. has a focus on devices with very limited capabilities, narrow band environments and special security and access control features. The fist phase of the WA. specification developed a whole application suite, especially for wireless clients as presented in the following sections. :ne global goal of the WA. is to minimi"e over!the!air and resource consumption on the hand held device. A client issues an encoded re2uest for an 4

WAP
operation on a remote server. .ncoding is necessary to minimi"e the data sent over the air and to save resources on the handheld devices. Decoders in a gateway now translate this encoded re2uest in to a standard re2uest as understood by the origin servers. This could be a re2uest to get a web page or a re2uest to setup a call. The gateway transfers this re2uest to the appropriate origin server as if it came from a standard client. The origin servers will respond to the re2uest. The gateway now encodes this response and its content and transfers the encoded response with the content to the client. The WA. logical model does not only include this standard re2uest?response scheme, but also push devices. Then an origin server pushes content to the gateway. The gateway encodes the pushed content and transmits the encoded pushed content to the client. With in a client several user agents can reside. 9ser agents include such items as browsers, phone boo#s, messages editors etc. WA. does neither specify the number of user agents nor their functionality, but assumes basic W&1 user agents that support W&1, W&1 script or both. Domain specific user agents with varying architectures can be implemented. WTA user handles access to and interaction with mobile telephone features (such as call control).

WAP

:rigin servers Web browse r

5esponse with content

8ateway

.ncoded responses with content

/lient
WTA 9ser agent

Push content

.ncoders A Decoders

.ncoded push content W&1 9ser agent

:ther content server

re2uest

.ncoded re2uest

:ther WAP 9ser agent

WA% o&ical Model

WI!% %SS S%SSI"' P!"T"#"

A sandwich layer that lin#s the WA. to two session services! one connection oriented operating above the Wireless Transaction Protocol and a connectionless service operating above the Wireless Datagram Protocol. The Wireless 4ession Protocol provides the Wireless Application .nvironment a consistent interface with two services3 connection!oriented service to operate above the Transaction 1ayer Protocol (WTP) and a connectionless service that operates above either secure or non!secure datagram service (WDP). /urrently the protocols of the W4P family provide ,TTP?<.< functionality and semantics in a compact encoding, long lived session state with session suspend and resume capabilities, a common facility for reliable and unreliable data push as well as a protocol feature negotiation. These protocols are optimi"ed to be used in low! bandwidth bearer networ#s with relative long latency in order to connect a WAP client to a ,TTP server. 4

WAP
W4P provides shared state between a client and a server to optimi"e content transfer .,TTP a protocol W4P tries to replace with in the wireless domain, is stateless, which already causes a lot of problems in fi-ed networ#s. 4tate is needed in web browsing eg3 to resume browsing in e-actly the same conte-t in which browsing has been suspended. This is an important feature for clients and servers. /lient users can continue to wor# where they left the browser or when the networ# was interrupted, or users can get their customi"ed environment every time they start browser. /ontent providers can customi"e their pages to clients needs and do not have to retransmit the same pages over and over again. W4P offers following features needed for content e-change between operating clients and servers. 4ession management3 W4P introduces sessions that can be established from a client to a server and maybe long lived. 4essions can also be released in an orderly manner. $mportant for mobile applications are suspending and resuming a session. /apability of negotiation3 /lients and servers can agree on a common level of protocol functionality during session establishment. /ontent encoding3 W4P defines an efficient binary encoding for the content it transfers. W4P offers content typing and composite ob+ects.

While W4P is a general purpose session protocol WAP has specified Wireless 4ession Protocol ?>rowsing (W4P?>) which comprises the protocols and services most suitable for browsing type applications. $n addition to the general features W4P?> offers the following features ,TTP?<.< functionality3 W4P?> supports the functions of ,TTP?<.<. :ffers such as e-tensible re2uest?reply methods, composite ob+ects and content type negotiation. W4P?> is a binary form of ,TTP?<.<. Thus ,TTP?<.< content 4

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headers are used to define content type, character set encoding languages etc., but binary encoding are defined for well #nown headers to reduce the protocol overheads. .-change of session headers3 /lient and server can e-change re2uest?reply headers that remain constant over the life time of the session. These headers may include content types, character sets, languages, device capabilities and other static parameters. W4P?> will not interpret header information but passes all headers directly to service users. Push and pull data transfer3 Pulling data from the server is supported by the W4P?> by using the re2uest?response mechanism from ,TTP?<.<. W4P?> supports three push mechanisms for the data transfer. a confirmed data push with in the an e-isting session conte-t, a non confirmed data push with in an e-isting session conte-t and a non confirmed data push with out an e-isting session conte-t. Asynchronous data re2uests3 :ptionally W4P?> supports a client that can send multiple re2uests to a server simultaneously. This improves the efficiency for the re2uests and replies can be now coalesced to in to fewer messages. 1atency is also improved, for each result can be send to the client as soon as it is available.

WI!% %SS T!A'SA#TI"' P!"T"#" (

5uns on top of a datagram service such as 9ser Datagram Protocol (9DP)* part of the standard suite of T/P?$P protocols, to provide a simplified protocol suitable for low bandwidth mobile stations. WTP offers three classes of transaction service3 unreliable one way re2uest, reliable one way re2uest and reliable two way re2uest respond. $nterestingly, WTP supports Protocol Data 9nit concatenation and delayed ac#nowledgement to help reduce the number of messages sent. This protocol therefore tries to optimi"e the user e-perience by providing the information that is needed when it is needed! it can be confusing to received confirmation of delivery messages when you are e-pecting the information itself. >y stringing several messages together, the end user may well be able to get a better feel more 2uic#ly for what information is being communicated. 4

WAP
The Wireless Transaction Protocol operates efficiently over either secure or non!secure wireless datagram networ#s. $t provides three different #inds of transaction services, namely unreliable one!way, reliable one!way and reliable two!way transactions. This layer also includes optional user!to!user reliability by triggering the confirmation of each received message. To reduce the number of messages sent, the feature of delayin& ac)no*led&ements can be used. WTP is designed to run on very thin clients, such as mobile phones. WTP offers several advantages to higher layers including an improved reliability over datagram services, such as web browsing. There are three classes of transaction services. #lass+ provides unreliable message transfer without any result message. #lass, and #lass- provide reliable message transfer, class< without and class6 with e-actly one reliable result message.#lass+/ #lass,/ #lasscan have an optional user ac#nowledgement. WTP achieves reliability using duplicate removal/

retransmission/ ac)no*led&ement and uni0ue transaction identifiers . %o WTP class re2uires any connection setup or teardown phase. This avoids unnecessary overheads on the communication lin#. WTP allows for async1ronous transactions/ abort of transactions/ concatenation of messa&es and can report t1e success or failure of reliable messa&es. A special feature of WTP is the ability to provide user ac#nowledgement or alternatively an automatic ac#nowledgement by WTP entity. $f user ac#nowledgement is re2uired, a WTP user has to confirm every message received by the entity. The three service primitives offered by the WTP are T!2Invo)e to initiate a new transaction, T!2!esult to send bac# the result of the previously initiated transaction and T!2Abort to abort an e-isting transaction. The P34 s e-changed between two WTP entities for normal transaction are the invo)e P34/ ac) P34 and result P34.

WTP #lass +
4

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/ass 7 offers an unreliable transaction service with out any result messages. The transaction is stateless and hence cannot be aborted. The service is re2uested with the T5!$nvo#e.re2 primitive. Parameters are the source address 5SA6/ source port 5SP6/ destination port 53P6/ destination address 53A6. The A flag determines whether the responder entity should generate an ac#nowledgement or a user ac#nowledgement is to be used. WTP layer will transmit the user data 5436 transparently to the destination. The class type, # indicates the class to be class 7. The transaction 1andle H provides a simple inde- to uni2uely identify the transaction and is an alias for the tuple (4A, 4P, DA, DP). The WDP entity at the initiator sends an invo#e PD9 which the responder receives. The WDP entity at the responder generates a T!2Invo)e.ind primitive with the same parameters as on initiator side e-cept for , which now is for the responder side. $n this the responder does not ac#nowledge the message and the initiator does not perform any retransmission and is recommended to use only when a datagram service is re2uired.

$nitiator T5!4AP T5!$nvo#e.re2 (4A,4P,DA,DP,A,9D,/B7,,) $nvo#e PD9

responder T5!4AP T5!$nvo#e.ind (4A,4P,DA,DP,A,9D,/B7,, )

WTP #lass+(

WTP #lass ,(

WAP
/lass < offers a reliable transaction service but without a result message. The initiator sends an invo#e PD9 after a T5!invo#e.re2 from a higher layer. ,ere /B<, class being <. The responder signals the incoming invo#e via the T5! invo#e.ind primitive to the higher layer and ac#nowledges automatically with out user intervention. (or the initiator the transaction ends with the reception of ac#nowledgement, the responder #eeps the transaction state for some time to be able to retransmit the ac#nowledgement if it receives the same invo#e PD9 again indicating a loss of ac#nowledgement.

$nitiator T5!4AP T5!$nvo#e.re2 (4A,4P,DA,DP,A,9D,/B<,,) $nvo#e PD9 Ac# PD9

responder T5!4AP T5!$nvo#e.ind (4A,4P,DA,DP,A,9D,/B<,, )

T5!$nvo#e.cnf (,)

T5!$nvo#e.res (, )

WTP #lass,(

WTP #lass -7
/lass 6 transaction service provides the classical reliable re2uest?response transaction with one reliable message. The initiator re2uests a service, 4

WAP
the WTP entity sends the invo#e PD9 to the responder. The responder indicates the re2uest with the T5!$nvo#e.ind primitive to a user. The responder waits for the processing of the re2uest, the user on the responder s side can finally give the result 9D0 to the WTP entity on responder side using T5!5esult.re2. %ow the result PD9 can be sent bac# to the to the initiator which implicitly ac#nowledges the invo#e PD9. Thus the initiator can indicate the successful transmission of the invo#e message and the result with the two service primitives T5!$nvo#e.cnf and T5!5esult.ind. A user may respond to this result with the T5!5esult.res then an ac#nowledgement PD9 is generated which finally triggers the T5!5esult.cnf primitive on the responder s side.

$nitiator T5!4AP T5!$nvo#e.re2 (4A,4P,DA,DP,A,9D,/B6,,) $nvo#e PD9

responder T5!4AP T5!$nvo#e.ind (4A,4P,DA,DP,A,9D,/B6,, )

5esult T5!$nvo#e.cnf (,) T5!5esult.ind (9D0, ,) T5!5esult.res (,) PD9

T5!5esult.re2 (9D0,, )

Ac# PD9

T5!5esult.cnf (, )

WTP #lass-( 4

WAP

WI!% %SS T!A'SP"!T A8%! S%#4!IT8

WT14 incorporates security features that are based upon the established Transport 1ayer 4ecurity (T14) protocol standard. $ncludes data integrity chec#s, privacy on the WAP 8ateway to client leg and authentication. The Wireless Transport 1ayer 4ecurity protocol is based on Transport 1ayer 4ecurity (T14) or formerly #nown as 4ecure 4oc#ets 1ayer (441). $t is designed to be used with other WAP protocols and to support narrow!band networ#s. $t uses data encryption with a method that is negotiated at the start of the session to provide privacy/ data inte&rity/ and aut1entication and denial2of2service protection. The latter is needed in cases when data is replayed or not properly verified. When that happens, WT14 detects the misuse and re+ects the data in order to ma#e many typical denial!of!service attac#s harder to accomplish. $t is up to the applications to enable or disable WT14 features. Whether that happens, it depends to their security re2uirements and the characteristics of the underlying networ#, namely, does it use security services at the lower layer. WT14 can provide different levels of security (for privacy, data integrity and authentication) and has been optimi"ed for low band width, high delay bearer net wor#s. WT14 ta#e in to account the low processing power and very limited memory capacity of the mobile devices for cryptographic algorithms. WT14 supports datagram and connection oriented transport layer protocols. >efore data can be e-changed via WT14, a secure session has to be established. (igure shown below illustrates the se2uence of service primitives needed for Cfull hand sha#eC. The originator and the peer of the secure session can both interrupt session establishment any time* eg3 if the parameters proposed are not acceptable.

WAP
:riginator 4./!4AP 4./!/reate.re2 (4A,4P,DA,DP,D.4,/4,/&) 4./!/reate.ind (4A,4P,DA, DP,D.4,/4,/&) Peer 4./!4AP

4./!/reate.cnf (4%&,D5,4$D,D.4 ,/4 ,/& )

4./!/reate.res (4%&,D5,4$D,D.4 ,/4 ,/& )

4./!.-change.ind

4./!.-change.re2

4./!.-change.res (//) 4./!.-change.cnf (//)

4./!/ommit.re2

4./!/ommit.ind 4./!/ommit.cnf

WT S establis1in& a secure session

WAP
The first step is to initiate the session with the 4./!/reate primitive. Parameters are source address 5SA6/ source port5SP6/ of t1e ori&inator/ destination address53A6/destination port53P6 of the peer. The originator proposes a )ey exc1an&e suite5$%S6 a cip1er suite5#S6 and a compression met1od5#M6.The peer answers with parameters for the se0uence number mode5S'M6 t1e )ey refres1 cycle5$!6/ (how often #eys are refreshed with in this secure session) the session identifier 5SI36 (which is uni2ue with each peer )and the selected )ey exc1an&e suite 5$%S96/cip1er suite5#S96/compression met1od5#M96.The peer also issues a S%#2 %xc1an&e primitive. This indicates that the peer wishes to perform public #ey authentication with the client, ie the peer re2uests a certificate from the originator. The first step of the secure session creation, the negotiation of the security parameters and suites, is indicated on the originators side, followed by a re2uest for a certificate. The originator answers with its certificate and issues S%#2#ommit.re0 primitive .This primitive indicates that the hand sha#e is completed for the originator s side and that the originator now wants to switch in to the newly negotiated connection side. The certificate is delivered to the peer side and the 4./!/ommit is indicated. The WT14 layer of the peer sends bac# a confirmation to the originator. This concludes the full handsha#e of the for secure session setup. After setting up a secure connection between the two peers, user data can be e-changed. This is done using the simple S%#24nitdata primitive as shown in figure below.

WAP

4ender 4./!4AP
4./!9nitdata.re2 (4A,4P,DA,DP,9D)

5eceiver 4./!4AP

4./!9nitdata.ind (4A,4P,DA,DP,9D)

WTLS Datagram Transfer S%#24nitdata has the same function as the T234nitdata on the WDP layer* it transfers a datagram between a sender and a receiver. The higher layers may use 4./!9nitdata instead of T!D9nitdata .Thus the parameters, 4A, 4P, DA, DP, 9D are same. Although WT14 allows for different encryption mechanisms with different #ey lengths, it is 2uite clear that due to computing power of the handheld devices and e-port regulations in some countries, the encryption provided cannot be very strong. ,owever applications or users are free to put stronger encryption on top of the whole protocol stac# if re2uired (and allowed ) ! the appropriate algorithms are available world wide. (uture wor# in the WT14 layer comprises consistent support for application level security ( eg3 digital signatures ) and different implementation classes with different capabilities to select from.

WI!% %SS 3ATA:!AM P!"T"#"

Allows WAP to be bearer independent by adapting the transport layer of the underlying bearer. WDP presents a consistent data format to the higher layers 4

WAP
of the WAP protocol stac# thereby conferring the advantage of bearer independence to application developers. The Wireless Datagram Protocol in WAP architecture covers the Transmission 1ayer Protocols in an $nternet model. As a general transport service, WDP offers to the upper layers an invisible interface independent of the underlying networ# technology used. $n conse2uence of the interface common to transport protocols, the upper layer protocols of the WAP architecture can operate independent of the underlying wireless networ#. >y letting only the transport layer deal with physical networ#! dependent issues, global interoperability can be ac2uired using mediating gateways. The bearer services, over which WAP is designed to operate, include short message, circuit!switched data and pac#et data services. 4ince the bearers offer different types of 2uality of service with respect to throughput, error rate and delays, the WDP is designed to either compensate for or tolerate these changes. Also, WDP lists all the bearers that are supported and the techni2ues applied when transmitting data over a certain bearer. These lists will change with new bearers being added as the wireless mar#et grows. At the T!4AP WDP offers a consistent datagram transport service independent of the underlying bearer. The closer the bearer service to $P, smaller the adaptation can be. $f the bearer already offers $P services, 9DP (9ser Datagram Protocol) is used as WDP. WDP offers source and destination port numbers used for multiple-ing and demultiple-ing of data respectively. The service primitive to send a datagram is T!Dunitdata.re2 with the destination address 53A6/ destination port 53P6/ source address5SA6/ source port5SP6 and user data5436 as mandatory parameters.

WAP
T!D9nitdata.re2 (DA,DP,4A,4P,9D) (

T!4AP

T!4AP T!D9nitdata.ind (4A,4P,9D)

T!D9nitdata.re2 (DA,DP,4A,4P,9D)

T!D.rror.ind (./)

W3P Service Primitives Destination and source address are uni2ue addresses for the receiver and sender of the user data. The TD9nitdata.ind service primitive indicates the reception of data. ,ere destination and port addresses are optional parameters. $f a higher layer re2uests a service the WDP cannot fulfill, this error is indicated with T!D.rror.ind service primitive. An error code 5%#6 is returned indicating the reason for the error to the higher layer. ,owever, this primitive must not be used by the WDP to indicate problems with the bearer service, only for local problems, such as a user data si"e that is too large. $f any error happen when WDP datagrams are sent from one WDP entity to another (eg3 destination is unreachable, no application is listening to the specified destination or port etc. ) the *ireless control messa&e protocol 5W#MP6 provides error handling mechanisms for WDP.W/&P can be used by the WDP nodes and gateways to report errors. Typical W/&P messages are destination unreachable (route, port, address unreachable), parameter problem, (errors in the pac#et header), message too big, reassembly failure or echo re2uest?reply 4

WAP
An additional WDP management entity supports WDP and provides information about the changes in the environment which may impact on the correct operation of WDP. $mportant information is the current configuration of the device, currently available bearer services, processing and memory resources etc. Design implementations of these management is considered vendor specific and thus outside the scope of WAP. $f the bearer already offers $P transmission, WDP (ie., 9DP in these case ) relies on the segmentation and reassembly capabilities of the $P layer as specified. :therwise, WDP has to include these capabilities, which is, eg. necessary for the 84& 4&4. The WAP specification provides many more adaptations to almost all bearer services currently available or planned for the future.(WAP (orum <EEF2), (WAP (orum <EEFb)

"ptimal WAP ;earer

SH"!T M%SSA:% S%!VI#% #I!#4IT SWIT#H%3 3ATA 4'ST!4#T4!%3 S4PP %M%'TA!8 S%!VI#%S 3ATA :%'%!A PA#$%T !A3I" S%!VI#%

SH"!T M%SSA:% S%!VI#%

8iven its limited length of <G7 characters per short message, 4&4 may not be an ade2uate bearer for WAP because of the weight protocol of the protocol. The overhead of the WAP protocol that would be re2uired to be transmitted in an 4&4 message would mean that even for the simplest of transactions several 4&4 messages may in fact have to be sent. This means that using 4&4 as a bearer

WAP
can be a time consuming and e-pensive e-ercise. :nly one networ# operator! 4>/ of the 94! is #nown to be developing WAP services based on 4&4.

#I!#4IT SWIT#H%3 3ATA

&ost of the trial WAP based services use /4D as the underlying bearer. 4ince /4D has relatively few users currently, WAP could #ic# start usage of and traffic generated by this bearer. ,owever, /4D lac#s immediacy! a dial up connection ta#ing about <7 seconds is re2uired to connect the WAP client to the WAP 8ateway, and this is the best case scenario when there is an complete end to end digital call! in the case of the need for analog modem handsha#ing (because the WAP phone does not support ;.<<7 the digital protocol, or the WAP 8ateway does not have a digital direct connection such as $4D% into the mobile networ#), the connect time is increased to about =7 seconds.

4'ST!4#T4!%3 S4PP %M%'TA!8 S%!VI#%S 3ATA

9nstructured 4upplementary 4ervices Data (944D) is a means of transmitting information or instructions over a 84& networ#. 944D has some similarities with 4&4 since both use the 84& networ#)s signaling path. 9nli#e 4&4, 944D is not a store and forward service and is session!oriented such that when a user accesses a 944D service, a session is established and the radio connection stays open until the user, application, or time out releases it. This has more in common with Circuit
Switche Data than SMS! USSD te"t messa#es can $e u% to &'( characters in )en#th!

944D has some advantages and disadvantages as a tool for deploying services on mobile networ#s3 Turnaround response times for interactive applications are shorter for 944D than 4&4 because of the session!based feature of 944D, and because it is %:T a store and forward service. According to %o#ia, 944D can be up to seven times faster than 4&4 to carry out the same two!way transaction. 4

WAP
9sers do not need to access any particular phone menu to access services with 944D! they can enter the 9nstructured 4upplementary 4ervices Data (944D) command direct from the initial mobile phone screen. >ecause 944D commands are routed bac# to the home mobile networ#)s Home ocation !e&ister 5H !6, services based on 944D wor# +ust as well and in e-actly the same way when users are roaming. 9nstructured 4upplementary 4ervices Data (944D) wor#s on all e-isting 84& mobile phones. >oth 4$& Application Tool#it and the Wireless Application Protocol support 944D. 944D 4tage 6 has been incorporated into the 84& standard. Whereas 944D was previously a one way bearer useful for administrative purposes such as service access, 4tage 6 is more advanced and interactive. >y sending in a 944D6 command, the user can receive an information services menu. As such, 944D 4tage 6 provides WAP!li#e features on .H$4T$%8 phones. 944D strings are typically complicated for the user to remember, involving the use of the '0' and 'I' characters to denote the start and finish of the 944D string. ,owever, 944D) strings for regularly used services can be stored in the phoneboo#, reducing the need to remember and reenter them. As such, 944D could be am ideal bearer for WAP on 84& networ#s.

:%'%!A PA#$%T !A3I" S%!VI#%

The 8eneral Pac#et 5adio 4ervice (8P54) is a new pac#et!based bearer that is being introduced on many 84& and TD&A mobile networ#s from the year 6777 onwards. $t is an e-citing new bearer because it is immediate (there is no dial up connection), relatively fast (up to <JJ.6 #bps in the very best theoretical e-treme) and supports virtual connectivity, allowing relevant information to be sent from the networ# as and when it is generated.

WAP
There are two efficient means of delivering proactively sending ('pushing') content to a mobile phone3 by the 4hort &essage 4ervice which is of course one of WAP bearers or by the user maintaining more or less a permanent 8P54 (mobile originated) session with the content server. ,owever, mobile terminated $P traffic might allow unsolicited information to reach the terminal. $nternet sources originating such unsolicited content may not be chargeable. A possible worse case scenario would be that mobile users would have to pay for receiving unsolicited +un# content. This is a potential reason for a mobile vendor %:T to support 8P54 &obile Terminate in their 8P54 terminals. ,owever, by originating the session themselves from their handset, users confirm their agreement to pay for the delivery of content from that service. 9sers could ma#e their re2uests via a WAP session, which would not therefore need to be bloc#ed. As such, a WAP session initiated from the WAP microbrowser could well be the only way that 8P54 users can receive information onto their mobile terminals. 4ince all but the early WAP enabled phones will also support the 8eneral Pac#et 5adio 4ervice, WAP and 8P54 could well be synergistic and be used widely together. (or the #inds of interactive, menu based information e-changes that WAP anticipates, /ircuit 4witched Data is not immediate enough because of the need to set up a call. .arly prototypes of WAP services based on /ircuit 4witched Data were therefore close to unusable. 4&4 on the other hand is immediate but is A1WAK4 store and forward, such that even when a subscriber has +ust re2uested information from their microbrowser, the 4&4 /enter resources are used in the information transfer. As such, 8P54 and WAP are ideal bearers for each other. Additionally, WAP incorporates two different connection modes! W4P connection mode or W4P connectionless protocol. This is very similar to the two 8P54 Point to Point services! connection oriented and connection less. WAP certainly will be important for the development of 8P54! based applications. >ecause the bearer level is separated from the application layer in the WAP protocol stac#, WAP provides the ideal and defined and standardi"ed means 4

WAP
to port the same application to different bearers. As such, many application developers will use WAP to facilitate the migration of their applications across bearers once 8P54 based WAP protocols are supported.

;eneficants from WAP

%'3 4S%!( &obile phones have become dominant tools in communications and at the same time the internet has become a de facto platform for information. >y adopting a common protocol the end user will be provided with more value added services which are easy to access and easy to use directly from mobile phone Telephony oriented services will be made easier to understand and to use. "P%!AT"!S3 The operators can differentiate by launching special services, for e-ample for ban#ing stoc# trading, directory services etc. A further differentiation is that the protocol ma#es it possible to tailor!ma#e specific menus with in the mobile phones, facilitating the use of the services. This customi"ation can be made over the air. I'34ST!83 The telecommunication industry will be able to avoid overlapping costs and investments if there is a common, open platform and tool for wireless messaging. This is one of the first and important step in the evolution of wireless data?messaging services which will increase the usage of data in wireless networ#s.

Future directions(
.ven if WAP technology is developed recently and the first wireless terminal device is entering the mar#et WAP is +ust one step in a direction of new and better technologies. The WAP services that are offered today seem to be comple- to survive. The future of wireless telephony, L8 or =8 will be ma#ing use of the pac#et switching networ# such as 8P54. This will bring the wireless communication in to 4

WAP
another dimension and will give opportunities for transmission of both pictures and videos.

#onclusion3
The WAP technology has a structured architecture designed and is based on the standards of the original WWW model. 4ince the technology has been developed by the WAP (orum, it has become a technology with an architecture that is scalable, interoperable, efficient, reliable and secure. $n the future we will see the technology a part of the day today life and the users of the wireless terminals will be able to read news, buy consort tic#ets and get access to intra and e-tranet. ,owever the WAP technology in the near future will meet the user re2uirements that it will have difficulties to deliver. The need for sending pictures and video is increasing day by day and hence WAP technology may be overta#en by some other technologies which have the aforementioned capabilities such as 8P54 or 9&T4.

The WAP W4P specification defines the W4P push operation and a W4P push PD9 (Protocol Data 9nit). A push operation is not specified for the ,TTP protocol, used by the WAP 8ateway server to communicate with content hosts. To support pushes, the server has to provide an application interface to allow server based applications to generate a push to a mobile client. The support of pushes on the client side depends on the capabilities of the handsets to handle pushed content. The %o#ia :TA configuration proposal to the WAP (orum describes the use of a connectionless push over the 4&4 bearer, to transfer the configuration data to the handset. W$5.1.44 T.1.P,:%K APP1$/AT$:% D.1AK.D The so!called Wireless Telephony Application (WTA) was only defined by the WAP (orum in @une <EEE. The WTA gives WAP some of the features that 4$& Application Tool#it incorporates such as access to phone report and call handling. 1A/D :( /::D$.4 (:5 4.44$:% &A%A8.&.%T There are no 'coo#ies' for session management, i.e. to hold the session together. /oo#ies are used on the fi-ed $nternet to identify the web browser and thereby assist in providing customi"ed and streamlined services. $nstead, some WAP applications use inde-es in the 951 as an alternative.

WAP
The coo#ie information is transmitted via ,TTP headers. >ecause WAP W4P is based on ,TTP headers, it should be possible to transmit coo#ie information to the clients. The problem may be the clients itself, which may currently not support the handling of coo#ie ,TTP header information or to save this information to a persistent storage in the mobile phone. P5.&AT95. .%/5KPT$:% .%DP:$%T The Wireless Transport 1ayer 4ecurity defines encryption between the &obile 4tation and the WAP 8ateway. The 'endpoint' of the encrypted WT14 data is the WAP 8ateway pro-y server. To have a secure connection to a content host (e.g. ban#ing server) the 8ateway pro-y server has to establish secure (https) connections to this hosts. $n this case the pro-y server has access to the decrypted data received via WT14 from the mobile station or from the content host via https. 4&A11 D:W%1:ADA>1. 9%$T 4$M. WAP incorporates no compression techni2ues for the te-tual content, although the W&1 mar#up commands are compressed. Additionally, the 'dec#'! the smallest unit of downloadable information in Wireless &ar#9p 1anguage! is limited to a ma-imum of <L77 bytes. This means that applications need to be specifically designed to be very code efficient by using templates and variables and #eeping information on the server and using the cache on the phone. W&1 byte code converting defines a (maybe inefficient) compression techni2ue by string tables. With this techni2ue duplicate strings in the W&1/ bytecode are avoided. This reduces the si"e of the data to transfer to the mobile client. The W4P 4D9 si"e of <L77 bytes is a default value. An increased si"e may be negotiated by a mobile client within the W4P capabilities. The WAP transport layer (WTP) is able to handle greater 4D9 si"es than <L77 too, by using 4A5 (4egmentation and 5e!assembly). ,owever, programmers need to be aware of them when they commence WAP application design.
WAP Clients and Gateways WAP is a c)ient ser*er %hi)oso%h+, re-uirin# a micro$rowser in the mo$i)e %hone an a WAP .atewa+ connecte to the mo$i)e networ/! 0+ ear)+ (111, WAP c)ients such as the No/ia 2&&1 were $ecomin# a*ai)a$)e in -uantit+ an other %hone *en ors such as A)cate) an Motoro)a ha*e announce that the+ are intro ucin# su%%ort 3or the Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco) across their entire %ro uct ran#e! Howe*er, since WAP re-uires a )ar#er screen si4e an more memor+ to han )e the WAP stac/, it costs more to %ro uce a WAP han set an wi)) there3ore mean more e"%ensi*e mo$i)e %hone %rices! WAP %hones wi)) there3ore $e istin#uisha$)e 3rom their non WAP counter%arts to the in3orme o$ser*er- an wi)) ha*e the 5WWW6MMM5 $ran in# an+wa+- which the WAP Forum 3oun ers ha*e a#ree on to e%ict WAP termina)s! Su%%ort $+ mo$i)e %hones 3or WAP wi)) $e the sim%)e )ar#est eterminant o3 when WAP is a success! SIM A%%)ication Too)/it is another wire)ess %rotoco) that ena$)es a simi)ar 3unctiona)it+ set to WAP! SIM A%%)ication Too)/it has $een aroun 3or )on#er than WAP an is at a )ater sta#e o3 e*e)o%ment an e%)o+ment than WAP $ut is a .SM on)+ techno)o#+ that has not $een

WAP
wi e)+ a o%te $+ )ea in# mo$i)e %hone *en ors such as No/ia an Ericsson! SIM A%%)ication Too)/it is su%%orte $+ %erha%s a -uarter o3 the insta))e $ase o3 .SM %hones! It ma+ $e that a%%)ication e*e)o%ers nee to su%%ort 0OTH WAP an SIM A%%)ication Too)/it AND stan ar SMS in their .atewa+s so that the a%%)ications an ser*ices can $e o33ere to A77 mo$i)e %hone users, rather than 8ust a su$set! Wi es%rea reach is o3 course essentia) in ma"imi4in# use o3 the ser*ices an he)%in# $ui) a wire)ess Internet %orta) that is %o%u)ar with a)) mo$i)e %hone users! Des%ite to a+9s )ac/ o3 an insta))e $ase o3 WAP ca%a$)e mo$i)e %hones, there are se*era) *en ors o3 WAP .atewa+s that networ/ o%erators, content %ro*i ers an a%%)ication e*e)o%ers can wor/ with to e*e)o% WAP-$ase ser*ices! WAP .atewa+s are insta))e into the mo$i)e %hone networ/ to %ro*i e a #atewa+ $etween the Internet an i33erent mo$i)e non*oice ser*ices such as the Short Messa#e Ser*ice, Circuit Switche Data an .enera) Pac/et Ra io Ser*ice! The WAP .atewa+ is essentia))+ a %iece o3 mi )eware, ta/in# in3ormation 3rom a we$ ser*er, %rocessin# it, an sen in# it out o*er the mo$i)e networ/ to a WAP c)ient! O3 the WAP Forum mem$ers, there are a$out a o4en su%%)iers o3 WAP .atewa+s! WAP .atewa+ su%%)iers inc)u e CM., No/ia, Ericsson, Phone!com :3ormer)+ Unwire P)anet;, Materna an Motoro)a! SMS Ser*er %)at3orm su%%)iers such as Sen it an Tecnomen ha*e NOT e*e)o%e their own WAP .atewa+! Phone!com announce its ac-uisition o3 APiON in Se%tem$er &<<<! FORMATION Motoro)a, No/ia, Ericsson an the US so3tware com%an+ Phone!com :3ormer)+ Unwire P)anet; were the initia) %artners that teame u% o*er two +ears a#o in mi &<<2 to e*e)o% an e%)o+ the Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco) :WAP;! WAP is an attem%t to e3ine the stan ar 3or how content 3rom the Internet is 3i)tere 3or mo$i)e communications! Content is now rea i)+ a*ai)a$)e on the Internet an WAP was esi#ne as the :rather than one; wa+ o3 ma/in# it easi)+ a*ai)a$)e on mo$i)e termina)s! The WAP Forum was 3orme a3ter a US networ/ o%erator Omni%oint issue a ten er 3or the su%%)+ o3 mo$i)e in3ormation ser*ices in ear)+ &<<2! It recei*e se*era) res%onses 3rom i33erent su%%)iers usin# %ro%rietar+ techni-ues 3or e)i*erin# the in3ormation such as Smart Messa#in# 3rom No/ia an HDM7 3rom Phone!com :then ca))e Unwire P)anet;! Omni%oint in3orme the ten er res%on ers that it wou) not acce%t a %ro%rietar+ a%%roach an recommen e that that *arious *en ors #et to#ether to e"%)ore e3inin# a common stan ar ! A3ter a)), there was not a #reat ea) o3 i33erence $etween the i33erent a%%roaches, which cou) $e com$ine an e"ten e to 3orm a %ower3u) stan ar ! These e*ents were the initia) stimu)us $ehin the e*e)o%ment o3 the Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco), with Ericsson an Motoro)a 8oinin# No/ia an Unwire P)anet as the 3oun er mem$ers o3 the WAP Forum! PHI7OSOPH= The Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco) ta/es a c)ient ser*er a%%roach! It incor%orates a re)ati*e)+ sim%)e micro$rowser into the mo$i)e %hone, re-uirin# on)+ )imite resources on the mo$i)e %hone! This ma/es WAP suita$)e 3or thin c)ients an ear)+ smart %hones! WAP %uts the inte))i#ence in the WAP .atewa+s whi)st a in# 8ust a micro$rowser to the mo$i)e %hones themse)*es! Micro$rowser-$ase ser*ices an a%%)ications resi e tem%orari)+ on ser*ers, not %ermanent)+ in %hones! The Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco) is aime at turnin# a mass-mar/et mo$i)e %hone into a 5networ/-$ase smart%hone5! As a re%resentati*e 3rom Phone!com

WAP
:3ormer)+ Unwire P)anet; on the $oar o3 the WAP Forum commente 5The %hi)oso%h+ $ehin Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco)9s a%%roach is to uti)i4e as 3ew resources as %ossi$)e on the han he) e*ice an com%ensate 3or the constraints o3 the e*ice $+ enrichin# the 3unctiona)it+ o3 the networ/5!The Wire)ess A%%)ication Protoco) is en*isa#e as a com%rehensi*e an sca)ea$)e %rotoco) esi#ne 3or use with6 an+ mo$i)e %hone 3rom those with a one )ine is%)a+ to a smart %hone an+ e"istin# or %)anne wire)ess ser*ice such as the Short Messa#e Ser*ice, Circuit Switche Data, Unstructure Su%%)ementar+ Ser*ices Data :USSD; an .enera) Pac/et Ra io Ser*ice :.PRS;! In ee , the im%ortance o3 WAP can $e 3oun in the 3act that it %ro*i es an e*o)utionar+ %ath 3or a%%)ication e*e)o%ers an networ/ o%erators to o33er their ser*ices on i33erent networ/ t+%es, $earers an termina) ca%a$i)ities!The esi#n o3 the WAP stan ar se%arates the a%%)ication e)ements 3rom the $earer $ein# use ! This he)%s in the mi#ration o3 some a%%)ications 3rom SMS or Circuit Switche Data to .PRS 3or e"am%)e! an+ mo$i)e networ/ stan ar such as Co e Di*ision Mu)ti%)e Access :CDMA;, .)o$a) S+stem 3or Mo$i)es :.SM;, or Uni*ersa) Mo$i)e Te)e%hone S+stem :>.SM;! WAP has $een esi#ne to wor/ with a)) ce))u)ar stan ar s an is su%%orte $+ ma8or wor) wi e wire)ess )ea ers such as AT?T Wire)ess an NTT DoCoMo! mu)ti%)e in%ut termina)s such as /e+%a s, /e+$oar s, touch-screens an st+)uses!