[October 5th 1999] Ericsson announced that they will make available their WAP 1.1 client at
favourable conditions to device manufacturers, operators, application developers and other WAP players. By this offering, developers will get access
to reliable and interoperable WAP stack and stimulate deployment of WAP
services.
"This initiative is about openness, interoperability and mobility," says Jan
Ahrenbring, Vice President Marketing and Communications at Ericsson Mobile Communications. "The combination of consumer terminals, applications
development and systems make Ericsson the most complete WAP supplier."
Ericsson started the WAP Forum and is a main force behind the WAP specifications and the evolution to W3C and 3G compliance. Today, Ericsson are
providing customers a head start in WAP by offering handsets, portals, management consultants for launching of services, applications, developers,
gateways for any 2G system, GPRS, or 3G system, gateways for enterprises and financial institutions, development tools and professional services including
training. Ericsson has also established a worldwide WAP consulting organization within Ericsson Business Consulting. In the beginning of next
year this organization will engage around 400 highly qualified and experienced people.
No other manufacturer has so far announced such a broad range of WAP-devices as Ericsson. On September 22 this year, Ericsson unveiled its third WAPproduct, the R320 mobile telephone. Earlier this year, Ericsson announced the
WAP-enabled R380 smart phone, which will be in market during the first quarter 2000. Already in the market is the MC218, an WAP-enabled mobile companion that
was the first WAP-product ever to hit the market. In 2000, a majority of
Ericsson phones will be WAP-enabled.
Ericsson is fully committed to the WAP 1.1 specification and all products are following this standard. In order to secure a successful launch of the WAP
technology, Ericsson has established an interoperability centre where they have already finished interoperability testing with major WAP vendors.
Ericsson installed the first WAP 1.1 compliant system already in June 1999.
Today more than 20 WAP 1.1 compliant WAP solutions, including gateways, have been delivered to customers for GSM, TDMA and CDMA systems.
Today, a web site dedicated to explain WAP technology and benefits will be launched, at
www.ericsson.com/WAP. The site will also include the Developer's
Zone for companies and people interested in developing and maintaining WAPsites.
