Taiwan Survey: WAP Considered Expensive, Slow

According to a new survey by Tamkang University’s
Department of Mass Communications, the three million
Taiwanese people who use WAP facilities on their cellular phones are
dissatisfied with the cost, speed and range of
services available.

Some 86.5 percent of respondents said that WAP
services were too slow, while 85.5 percent complained
about the price. There are too few services to make
WAP attractive, according to 83.3 percent of those
surveyed.

When asked what they wanted WAP facilities for, 79.4
percent of the 1,000 respondents cited viewing
financial information and conducting financial
transactions as an important reason.

Making movie ticket, restaurant and travel
reservations was named by 77.9 percent of those
surveyed, while 76.2 percent nominated traffic and
weather information.

General reference services were cited by 75.7 percent,
while access to news sites was chosen by 73.4 percent.

Despite the level of dissatisfaction with current WAP
services, 43.1 percent of the non-WAP users surveyed
by Tamkang University said they plan to buy a
WAP-capable mobile phone within a year.

According to data released by the Directorate-General
of Budget, Accounting and Statistic, 55.7 percent of
Taiwan’s population owns a mobile phone. The number of
cell phone users in Taiwan reached 12.3 million in
February, with mobile-phone use now exceeding land
line use.