Knowing full well that I am putting my life at risk from car accidents or potential brain cancer I finally caved in last week and bought a cell phone.

Well actually I bought it on the pretext for my wife in case she's ever stuck on some lonely road in France in the dark and needs to call the repair service. Yeah right. She's already racked up this month's minimum two hours of air time and I've probably used up as much time trying to figure out how to get on the Internet.

I've jumped technology and joined the ranks of those who are now proud but probably frustrated users of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), a technology that cell phone providers are enthusiastically foisting on us in the hopes of getting us to use more high priced connection time. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), which is not on offer yet in Bermuda, was supposed to be the 'next big thing' in the development of the Internet and what's being called M-commerce or mobile electronic commerce.

But so far use of the technology has been low, and after trying to punch tiny buttons and get even the tiniest bit of information I can see why. WAP so far is a flop.

WAP refers to a set of open, global protocols for developing applications and services that use wireless networks. The WAP protocols are mainly based on already existing Internet protocols, but are simplified for mobile users with wireless devices and small text-based screens. One can see how it might be useful -- for example finding directions to a place by punching in the street address and then getting a set of instructions, or seeing the latest stock or sports scores.

Sites like Amazon.com, and Lycos are making services available to WAP users but relatively few people are logging on, or even getting as far as buying. A Boston Consulting Group study found that one in five owners of WAP mobile devices in the US stops using m-commerce applications after the first few attempts. And less than a third of those who own WAP-enabled mobile devices actually use m-commerce applications. I gave up after the first try. It just isn't worth it.

"There is a big gap between what the technology can do today and what the consumer has been led to expect,'' said David Dean, Boston Consulting Group vice president. "The good news is that these sources of consumer frustration -- slow transmission speeds, difficult user interfaces and high costs -- are being addressed by operators and equipment manufacturers. M-commerce players will need to move fast to improve the user interface and offer innovative pricing structures.'' The study cites the difficulty of typing in text using a phone keypad, high costs, slow speeds, unreliable service and cumbersome navigation, as the top five dissatisfactions. Still you can bet mobile phone service providers like BTC Mobility and Bermuda Digital Communications are looking at the other side of the predictions -- the forecasters who generally say that mobile devices such as cell phones will become part of a daily routine for sending e-mails, getting news and information, and shopping.

The Boston Consulting report predicts that by 2003, m-commerce will be where the Internet was in 1998 in terms of transaction value.

"In the business-to-consumer space, total revenues generated by m-commerce will reach approximately $100 billion, half of which will come from data transmission charges, e-mail subscription fees, and advertising; the other half will come from the value of transactions and related activities via mobile devices,'' according to the report.

There is a long way to go. Of those who use a mobile device (which includes cell phones, and personal digital assistants) to go online, the majority spends less than five minutes using m-commerce applications. Only eight percent use m-commerce services for more than an hour a week. By contrast, the average US consumer surfs the Internet for 31 minutes per session on a fixed line connection.

The basic message here is -- don't dash out to buy the latest WAP-enable phone just yet. There are quite a few glitches and user-friendly features that need to be worked out yet.

In one of those ironic twists of technological history France, or rather France Telecom, was at the cutting edge of some form of the Internet back in the 1980s. Unfortunately the then monopoly provider sat back on its heels and the Minitel network remains stuck in its past. But it's a good past and Minitel is not about to cave under due to the Internet. I remember when I went over to a friend's house to help him fix his computer, he immediately dashed over to his Minitel to show me how it worked. What I noticed was his passion -- something I have only seen in the eyes of Apple users.

Minitel's popularity is so ingrained in France that the network is now being blamed for holding back Internet use because so many people have decided to stick with it rather than make the jump to the Internet. Minitel has 18 million regular users in France (and seven million terminals) compared with only seven million Internet users.

France Telecom, which provides Internet services, is going with the flow. The company has just spent 300 million francs on advertising to promote the network. Minitel was launched in 1982 and consists of a terminal with a small monitor with a keyboard and a telephone link. The Minitels were distributed free (another Internet-type strategy) with normal telephone service by France Telecom and were first used as online Yellow Pages. Minitel quickly came to provide news, mail-order services, ticket, railway and airline bookings, an online bill-paying service, and an encyclopaedia -- all for a small price based on the time used.

The result is that many French are sticking with the technology they are comfortable with and that provides them with just enough services, rather than making the jump to the Internet. At the start of 1999, the number of French net users was half that of Britain's.

In proclaiming that it was going to continue to invest in Minitel, France Telecom justified its investment by stating that people don't need the Internet to buy a train ticket if they can use the Minitel with its secure payment facility. All Minitel terminals have a chip to enable electronic payment, and France Telecom guarantees the safety of the network. In 1998, the French bought 600 million francs worth of goods electronically. Only about 1.5 million francs of that was via the Internet.

The Minitel could eventually be relegated to history, or could stay on as a useful but country-bound network. But when I see the box in homes of friends I visit, I always wonder what would have happened if France had founded the Internet. Ok... send me your jokes please! Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. Contact Ahmed at ahmed y elamin.com or (33) 467901474.