THIS is not a commercial.

When I tell you that I have put up my own personal WAPsite, I don't mean to give you that cheesy smile, shake your hand and tell you that I'm running for Congress because P500,000 get dished out to representatives every now and then. I want to tell you about an experiment I have conducted over the last week, and it's about WAP.

As you well know, the wireless application protocol (WAP) is a standard method by which Internet data can be sent through GSM (global system for mobile communications) cellular phones. We've been seeing more WAP-enabled phones recently, starting with Nokia's 7110 (the first WAP phone to be launched locally) and, last Thursday, Ericsson launched the R320. In a month or so you'll be seeing Siemen's own WAP phone--the C135--in the local market.

WAP phones are those with big faces, five lines (as in the case of Ericsson) or more (as in the case of Nokia). The idea is to tap Internet data using your cellular phone.

However, you won't see the Internet as you know it, or view it, using your PC and a web browser. Those websites are written in HTML (hypertext markup language), while WAPsites are written in WML (wireless markup language), which is based on another standard called XML (extensible markup language). These are all geeky terms you don't wanna mess with, but suffice it to say that these are languages on which websites and WAPsites are written.

When you author a website, you need to host it somewhere so that it would be made available to anyone connected to the Internet, as long as you know the site's address, of course. The same thing goes with WAP. After authoring a WAPsite, you need to host it somewhere so that it could be made available to WAP phone-toting people.

Of course, your WAP phone works on the GSM standard, and there are only two GSM cellular phone operators in the country: Globe Telecom and Smart Communications.

This is where the problem begins. Globe and Smart are bitter rivals, and lately we've been seeing them trying to outdo each other in terms of WAP offerings. They're getting WAP content left and right, and most of the time the deals are exclusive, meaning if the content provider signs up with Smart, for a certain period you cannot offer the same WAP content to Globe.

Now, Globe and Smart have been stacking up their cards, collecting WAP content and embracing them into their fold, much like a jealous, over-protective lover would. And then, when you sign up to their WAP services, you would be led to Globe's or Smart's WAP homepage, wherein the WAP services they offer are listed (remember the time when ISPs used to trick first-time Net users into making the ISP's webpage the user's default home page?). You can click on the links provided therein, leading you to the WAP sites with which Globe or Smart has partnerships.

The question now becomes: What about small WAPsites which WAP phone users might want to visit? Will I be limited to the offerings of either Globe or Smart, depending on which WAPsites they have on their servers? What if I want to visit my Aunt Jebedizah's WAPsite from Europe? Will Globe or Smart's gateway allow me to view it?

If not, then we can say that Smart and Globe are not offering its subscribers Internet access via the cellular phone. If we, the subscribers, log on to Smart or Globe's WAP server only to be limited to the WAP content they have partnerships with, then we are not connected to the Internet at large. How, then, can I view Aunt Jebedizah's WAPsite?

To find out, I constructed a WAPsite of my own and loaded it with enough content to stand on its own. I placed there some tips, some "whois" blind items about the IT industry, and some reference to my columns. It sounds biased, but I think the site is pretty informative. I then hosted it on a free WAP site hosting website (getting confusing? I know.) And then, armed with a Nokia 7110 and a Globe Mobile Office account, I set out to answer my own question.

Guess what?

It worked. I was able to view my own WAPsite. I bookmarked it and so now I have a choice of going to another site apart from those which Globe offers.

Now I'd like to find out if the same would work with Smart. Theoretically, there wouldn't be any problem, but I wouldn't know till I get my own Smart line (yes, unfortunately I will now have to have two cell phone accounts for the purpose of experimentation and convenience. Damn interconnection!). Depending on how many years I could get a Smart line and WAP phone, I'd give you feedback as soon as possible.

I'm also interested to see if Smart or Globe blocks any particular WAP content. What if I suddenly become critical of either of them in my WAPsite? Touchy, touchy . . .

I guess you guys can help me out by going to the WAPsite. Globe and Smart people are welcome to try. But first you have to bookmark the site's URL in your phone. To do this, hold your breath, blink seven times, hold your left earlobe and follow these other directions:

1) Go to "Services" (Menu 10)
2) Click Navi roller ("Service" options should appear)
3) Select "Bookmarks"
4) Press "Options"
5) Select or click on "Add Bookmark"
6) Enter this URL: http://www.tagtag.com/leomagno
7) Press "OK"
8) Enter any title you may want to call the WAPsite.
9) My WAPsite will now be stored as a bookmark

This procedure, however, is specific to the Nokia 7110 since it's the only WAP phone I've tried so far. Also, I'm using a Globe account.

Again, in the future I'd tell you how other WAP cell phones perform against the 7110 as soon as I get my hands on them, and also how Smart's WAP service performs against that of Globe as soon as I get a new Smart account.

Which brings me to the matter of configuring your phone for WAP service. I had some difficulty configuring mine, although I followed everything to the letter. I made three calls to GNet, two visits to Globe's website and one trip to Globe's customer service center in Megamall. The customer service rep returned the phone to me and said she couldn't figure out what was wrong. She then referred me to Globe's main office in Pioneer Highlands on Boni Avenue, where incidentally my good pal Rigel Rempola resides.

Eventually I figured it out on my own, but not until the customer service reps gave up on me.

People would tell me on the phone: "It's so easy!" But when I ask them to do it, they gave up on the phone.

At the Ericsson launch Thursday, I met with Ericsson officials from the region and was pleased to hear that the Swedish cellular phone firm will include software that will help users configure the phone's WAP settings. I hear the software will come bundled with the phone on a CD.

Not bad. Why don't you guys throw in a WAP development tool along with the CD?

My kumpare Jerrry Liao and I will discuss the benefits and pitfalls of WAP on Infochat on Sunday, May 7, starting 9 a.m. on ABC 5. You might want to check it out to see where WAP is headed and how other wireless solutions could come into play with mobile commerce (m-commerce).

And so, I await your feedback regarding the WAPsite, and I hope you'd join this little exercise if your phone is WAP-enabled. Smart users are most welcome since I've only tried accessing the site from Globe.