The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is about to bring a huge growth in portable communications equipment. Yet, surprising, many people have not heard about WAP, how it works and what exactly it does.

WAP is a complete protocol for bringing the Internet to mobile devices. It is a total architecture that provides a standard for wireless hardware, basic Web pages, and sending and receiving data over wireless connections.

Accessing live financial information, Web bookings, live news feeds, e-mail and online banking are just a few examples of the potential for WAP. This standard is likely to bring interactive Internet access to mobile phones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and other hybrid devices.

More people than ever before will be able to access the Internet with WAP devices. The focus of WAP devices on simplicity, practicality and performance means that consumers will be more willing to pay for them. First generation WAP devices will almost certainly look like a tiny display with a bunch of crammed text. Graphics will also be limited to basic icons at best. The information, however, will probably be user friendly and very useful.

Ericsson, Nokia and Phone.com are the driving forces behind WAP. These three major companies are now working with device manufacturers and wireless service providers worldwide to build the architecture together. WAP uses Wireless Markup Language (WML) to deliver Web pages. WMLScript has also been developed to allow programmed elements to be added to Web pages.

WML pages are sent in Cards, which are viewable screens that you navigate between, forwards and backwards. Each card can be scripted and dynamic, so WAP will be as useful as current Internet connections. Though WAP will almost never be able to support high-resolution graphics, this can be beneficial by forcing WML designers to focus on providing information, and not bells and whistles.

Expect to be hearing more about WAP over the next few months as more WAP devices come onto the market. Hopefully, in the not to distant future, we will be seeing WAP phones bringing the Internet off your desktop and into your pocket.