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European
WAP Services Poised for Boom: Continent Will Have Well Over 200
Million Users by 2004
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 3, 2001
- Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) services have gotten off to
a slow start in Western Europe with just 5.8 million users in 2000,
according to Cahners In-Stat Group. (http://www.instat.com/)
But the market, driven by the adoption of General Packet Radio Service
(GPRS) technology, will take off and soar to well over 200 million
users by 2004, the high-tech market research firm predicts.
European carriers hope GPRS will overcome
the problems of slow connection time and download associated with
early WAP services, which were poorly received. The launch of GPRS
is being delayed, however, due to a lack of available handsets,
which are not expected to receive strong volume deliveries until
the second half of 2001. Also helping drive greater adoption of
wireless Internet services over the next few years will be the merging
of two formally disparate standards, WML (on which WAP is based)
and compact HTML (on which DoCoMo's iMode service is based) into
a new standard based on xHTML. "Developers will have only one standard
to write for, spawning a plethora of new applications," says Becky
Diercks, Director of In-Stat's Wireless Group.
In-Stat's research also found that:
- The greatest number of WAP users
was in Germany, which had 1.25 million.
- High Speed Circuit Switched Data
(HSCSD) has had a relatively low uptake and will remain a small
niche sector of the market with predominantly corporate customers.
- The window of opportunity for 2.5G
services before the scheduled launch of 3G services was thought
to be minimal, but the fear now being expressed by operators about
limited availability of 3G handsets may prolong the viability
of 2.5G.
The report, WAP
is Dead! Long Live WAP! WAP and 2.5G Services in Western Europe
(#MD0102SV), includes a forecast of the Western European WAP market
from 2000-2004. The report also contains market analysis of wireless
data protocols, new wireless data developments in the Western European
market, a roundup of scheduled WAP service launches-segmented by
technology-by major European carriers, and a detailed report of
the wireless data strategies of several major carriers.
To purchase this report, or for more
information, please contact Matthew
Woods at 617.630.2139; mwoods@instat.com.
The report price is $3,295 USD.
Cahners In-Stat Group (http://www.instat.com)
covers the full spectrum of digital communications research from
vendor to end-user, providing the analysis and perspective that
allows technology vendors and service providers worldwide to make
more informed business decisions.
For more information,
contact:
Becky
Diercks, Director - Wireless Research
Phone: 617.558.4748
Email: rdiercks@cahners.com
Kirsten Skedd,
Marketing Manager
Phone: 480.609.4534
Email: kskedd@instat.com
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