Forum releases wireless markup specs

In hopes of increasing the market for browser-enabled wireless phones, the Wireless Application Protocol Forum has released version 1.0 of the open specification, wireless markup language.

"We want browser functionality to become a standard feature in all digital phones," said Ben Linder, vice president of marketing for Unwired Planet, a founding member of the WAP Forum. Forum members believe that if standards bodies accept WML, the market for products that allow hand-held devices to access the Internet and intranets will grow.

Unwired Planet originally positioned its software products as tools for allowing subscribers to access information on the Internet or intranets. That position stands, but the company is now specifically stressing the benefits of these capabilities.

Questions about features and calls from prepaid users or bulk airtime subscribers about how much time is left on an account can be eliminated with a browser on the phone. Linder envisions applications in which customers check their accounts from the browser on their phones and activate services such as call forwarding by navigating a user interface.

Positioning browser-capable hand-held devices as tools to help carriers cut customer service costs makes it "easier to sell to both service providers and phone manufacturers," said David Cooperstein, senior analyst of telecom strategies for Forrester Research. Industry players may have been discouraged from employing software such as UP's because information on the Web had to be translated to HDML, the markup language originally developed by UP, for a phone to access it. The customer service angle coupled with a standard language might convince customers to buy the software, he said.

Linder cited billing as an area where carriers can cut costs with hand-held browsers. He points to an MCI promotion that offers 9 cents a minute to customers who choose to receive bills over the Internet. Clearly, MCI saves money by sending bills electronically rather than via paper mail. "Imagine if cellular carriers could say you could get billing information via the phone," Linder said.