WAP Gateways

  WAP is an open global standard for communication between a mobile handset and the Internet or other computer applications, as defined by the WAP Forum (http://www.wapforum.org). WAP-based technology enables the design of advanced, interactive and real-time mobile services, such as mobile banking or Internet based news services, which can be used in digital mobile phones or other mobile devices. The WAP specification enables solutions from various suppliers to work consistently for end-users on the digital networks.

WAP creates new business opportunities for corporations by providing a new channel for existing services and the possibility for totally new services that can reach customers 24 hours a day wherever they are. Since WAP is an open protocol for wireless messaging, it provides the same technology to all vendors regardless of the network system. This means that there will be WAP compliant terminals from several manufacturers. Also, the server technology is open, so operators and companies can select from a wide range of products. The common standard offers economies of scale, encouraging manufacturers, application developers and content providers to invest in developing WAP compatible products. Companies can benefit from WAP by offering end-users new mobile services that make everyday life much more convenient and are easily accessed by a mobile phone. The telecommunications industry avoids overlapping costs and investments thanks to the common, open platform and tool for wireless messaging. Operators can differentiate themselves by launching new and intriguing services. Developers and content providers are able to access all protocols and carriers with one product.

Captaris offers the most popular and widely used WAP Servers in the world, and provides a range of solutions for both the corporate business and carrier markets. Infinite WAP Servers connect WAP compatible mobile phones to Internet and Intranet based applications and content. Whether you are looking for a WAP gateway to use for development and testing purposes, or a gateway that will scale to support thousands of active users, Infinite WAP Servers can meet your needs.

Features

Support for Multiple Devices As more WAP content, services, and WAP devices become available, cross-platform support is one of the most important factors in deciding on a wireless solutions provider. Infinite WAP Servers are designed to support a broad range of phones (including those manufactured by Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, and Ericsson), as well as other devices - such as 2-way pagers and Palm PCs.

Global Solutions Captaris, with offices throughout the world, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of WAP solutions, and an established leader in the rapidly growing WAP market. Infinite WAP solutions are currently in use at large commercial sites such as BT Internet and BT Cellnet in the United Kingdom, Omnitel in Italy, Swisscom in Switzerland, Telstra in Australia, SmartTone in Hong Kong, Optimus in Portugal, Telefonica in Spain, KPN in the Netherlands, Postova Bank in Slovakia, Vakifbank in Turkey, and many other major mobile operators and corporations worldwide.

Scalable The Infinite WAP Gateway supports over 5,000 concurrent sessions and can be configured in server clusters to support thousands more user sessions. Infinite WAP Gateways have been deployed in numerous commercial sites around the world.

Wireless Security Infinite has incorporated the Baltimore Telepathy WAP Security Toolkit (WST) into its WAP Servers to provide secure mobile access to email and other services available on the Internet, Intranet, and other information  systems. WTLS provides the key security elements of confidentiality, integrity and authentication. WTLS is the wireless version of the industry standard Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is equivalent to the widely used Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.1. SSL and TLS provide a secure network connection session between a client and a server, most commonly used between a web browser and a web server.

How It Works

To connect to the Infinite WAP Server, each device must be configured to make a GSM data call (CSD – circuit switched data) into a RAS (Remote Access Server) dial-up server. The devices will make a PPP (dial-up TCP/IP) connection to the RAS server. Additional configuration is needed to set the dial-up properties for this connection in the device (phone number, PPP user name and password). Over the RAS connection, the mobile device will send and receive packets over UDP to interface with the Infinite WAP Server. Device administrators will need to configure the IP address of the WAP Server within each telephone. The Infinite WAP Server issues HTTP requests to fetch WML content from other web servers. Requests from the device are translated into HTTP requests, and the results are compiled and transmitted back to the mobile phone.

The Infinite WAP Server Series

Infinite Enterprise WAP Server
The Infinite Enterprise WAP Server, commercially available since October 1999, is the world’s most popular corporate WAP server and is widely used by large enterprise customers and mobile operators throughout Europe and Asia. Along with multiple phone compatibility, the Infinite Enterprise WAP Server includes support for WML scripting, HTTP cookies, and data encryption security using WTLS.

WAPlite
Used by WAP developers throughout the world, WAPlite is a scaled-down version of the powerful Infinite Enterprise WAP Server. Fast, functional, and affordable, WAPlite is perfect for application developers and small corporations that wish to create, test, and offer WAP content to a limited number of users.

Infinite WAP Server for Carriers
The Infinite WAP Server for Carriers is the perfect solution to address the unique needs of the growing wireless ISP market. The Carrier edition incorporates much of the functionality of the Enterprise WAP Server, including support for WML scripting, HTTP cookies, and data encryption using WTLS, as well as it’s scalability to hundreds of thousands of users. In addition, support for WAP advertising gives wireless ISPs an immediate way to generate revenue and promote other content. The Carrier Edition is the perfect complement to the Infinite Enterprise Mail Connector.