Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)This catchall term refers to the various enhanced services that carriers can send to your phone via the WAP. It allows your phone to communicate with your content provider over the Internet, much the way information is sent to your home computer on the Web. Each carrier's WAP service functions as an information warehouse: it can gather local movie times and restaurant information; show news, weather, and sports updates; provide mobile e-mail services and web browsing; or capture pay-per-download music and videos. The services also let you purchase ringtones, themes, games, and applications.
As carriers have rolled out high-speed data services, so too have they introduced mobile content services that depend on higher data rates. Sprint and Verizon rely on the 3G EV-DO data service to deliver streaming video, real-time audio, fast web browsing, and downloadable music. AT&T and T-Mobile, meanwhile, run on alternative 2.5G EDGE and 3G UMTS networks, which are built using a different infrastructure than EV-DO but achieve the same basic objectives. (The UMTS network is faster than EDGE but isn't as widely available.) All the carriers eventually promise significant service upgrades with the launch of 4G data services, hopefully in 2008.
Some carriers offer pay-as-you-go pricing based on the amount of data you transfer via their Internet content services; however, flat-rate monthly packages usually are more cost efficient. AT&T, for instance, charges $9.99 for a basic package with 400 messages and 1 MB of MEdia Net transfers, which incorporates e-mail, sports scores, ringtones, games, and more. For an additional $20 per month, users can enjoy unlimited access to AT&T's Cellular Video service--with video clips from TV shows, music videos, and sports highlights--along with unlimited MEdia Net access and 1,500 messages.
The other major carriers offer similar services: Verizon's V-CAST video costs $10 per month or $3 per day, while Sprint charges $20 a month for separate music and TV packages. Verizon also bundles its V-Cast music services into its America's Choice Premium voice plans. Check the carriers' respective websites for more information.
