Latency Killed The Early Mobile Internet: The #1 Reason WAP is Failing

What is the #1 Reason for WAP's Failure?

March 7, 2002
by Derek Kerton

I throw this title up as a kind of Red Herring. Actually, WAP was not responsible for the failure of early wireless Internet in the US. Blaming WAP is like shooting the messenger. So what is the #1 reason for the early failure of the wireless Internet? Latency.

Latency is the term used to describe the wait-time between when you request data and when the data is delivered. This is not to be confused with speed (or bandwidth). Speed or bandwidth refers to how fast data can travel over the network. On a 2G wireless network, latency includes the agonizingly slow dial-up delay one must endure for up to 20 seconds before even seeing the first WAP page.

Latency is the killer of quick information retrieval. It is the difference between impressing your friends at how fast you can access the latest sports score -or having them tease you for being a geek with an overpriced slow phone (sigh).

In 2G WAP, once the connection is established there are usually about 4 seconds of latency for each subsequent page request. Picture yourself navigating on a small screen, through confusing menus (that the carrier has sold to the highest bidder, not the most relevant content) with each screen taking 4 seconds. If you are experienced, you may see your sports score after 5 screens, or about 40 seconds total. This, as I have sadly experienced many times, is about 30 seconds too late for the "Wow!" factor.

The "Wow!" factor is the point where your friends and colleagues are impressed enough with the wireless service you are using that they actually wish they had it themselves. At this stage in the market development, we are still beyond the "Wow!" cutoff point. In fact, in my hockey team's locker room where demand for current San Jose Sharks scores runs high, I often breach the "Your phone is so slow we shall towel-whip you." threshold. Ouch. Is speed partly to blame?

Turns out, speed has been somewhat irrelevant thus far in the US. Although our relatively slow 9,600-14,400 bandwidth has prevented rich content and multimedia from appearing on mobile devices, it is not a limiting factor in delivering quick bits of useful information. A quick bit of useful information, anytime, anywhere, was the true original promise of the mobile Internet. 9,600 speeds are more than capable of delivering stock prices, scores, news, or any text much faster than your brain can digest.

RIM's BlackBerry has been very well received, in part because they have managed to hide latency. The "always-on" network of the BlackBerry retrieves data in the background, so that when the consumer uses the device, it already has all the data available - zero latency! In fact, most BlackBerrys are running on the antique, quite slow Mobitex network. Since the emails on the BlackBerry are just text, the network bandwidth is quite adequate to the task, and the latency has been cleverly hidden from the user. The always-on connection is the key.

At this point, most of you will know that 2.5G networks are being deployed in the US and will provide an "always-on" connection to the Internet. Both brands of 2.5G, GPRS and 1xRTT, will offer users the elimination of the dial-up delay. This is the biggest contribution 2.5G will make, although it may sound surprising coming from me. After working for a large media company, and now consulting for a carrier with a 2.5G network that achieves speeds of 56k, you would think that I would find bandwidth more important than latency, but I don't. Here's why:

1) No Latency: eliminates frustration, speeds up access to information

2) High Bandwidth: enables richer content

I think 1 is much more powerful than 2. Mobility, almost by its very nature, demands quick information. If we do not eliminate the frustration involved with slow access, we will never see the benefits of higher bandwidth. Number 1 eliminates the barriers, while 2 provides the opportunities for growth. The progress is hierarchical, and 1 must come before 2.

So let's welcome the arrival of 2.5G, the steady eradication of latency, and the satisfaction that comes with Just-In-Time information delivery.