METU WAP Site is opened on the address wap.metu.edu.tr on September 1^st, 2000. The users can have brief information about METU, the campus, its history, research and education facilities, various departments and general services, all in English on this site. The activities we have carried out to maintain our goals in parallel with our commitment to improve the WAP service are summarized below:

During 2000-2001 registrations our users were regularly informed about the important announcements and significant dates on this wap site. This made it convenient for our students to be able to access the important information about registrations whenever they need it.

METU Computer Center is striving to make better and enrich the content of METU Wap site. Announcement and Activities System has begun in early November aiming to reach a wider community on time when making announcements. Computer Center will undertake some tasks for the announcements within the scope of this system to appear simultaneously on the wap site.

Similarly, Computer Center will undertake some tasks to provide the METU Telephone Guide service on the wap site as well, which is presently available on METU Web pages.

The students generally register themselves for the semesters in METU on interactive web pages. It is included in our future projects to provide for the students the facility to register themselves on this wap.metu.edu.tr system.

The METU Wap site is currently available in English on the address wap.metu.edu.tr, however, the METU Wap site with a Turkish content will soon be available on the address wap.odtu.edu.tr .

Computer Center aims to help users benefit from wap technology, access information easily and at the right time, perform various operations more easily and efficiently via using this technology.

The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open, global specification that empowers mobile users with wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services instantly. It can also be described as the gateway to a new world of mobile data. It provides a universal standard which enables users to easily access Web-based interactive information services and applications from the screens of their mobile phones.

These include both consumer and corporate solutions, like e-mail, corporate data, news, sports and information services, entertainment, TV/movies, travel, leisure, culture, medical care, electronic commerce transactions and banking services. This is only the beginning.

To enable easy fast delivery of relevant information and services to mobile users.

Handheld digital wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and communicators -- from low-end to high-end.

WAP is designed to work with most wireless networks such as CDPD, CDMA, GSM, PDC, PHS, TDMA, FLEX, ReFLEX, iDEN, TETRA, DECT, DataTAC, Mobitex.

WAP is a communications protocol and application environment. It can be built on any operating system including PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9, JavaOS etc. It provides service interoperability even between different device families.

WAP opens a host of opportunities for carriers to generate on-going revenue streams, secure customer loyalty and develop unique services that will allow differentiation from the competition.

One worldwide standard that is device-independent and bearer-independent assures developers of a broad, ever-expanding market for content and applications.

The increasing popularity of WAP will generate tremendous demand for new devices to accommodate WAP's capabilities, new infrastructure to handle the increased demands on operator's systems and more gateways to handle the information flow between Internet and wireless operator networks.

WAP offers an easy-to-use and highly portable communications and information tool. Devices using WAP-based microbrowsers can access an array of innovative, value-added services, which are rapidly coming to market. Taken from:
http://www.wapforum.com
http://www.nokia.com