WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol. The idea comes from the wireless industry, from companies such as Openwave, Nokia and Ericsson. The point of this standard is to serve internet contents and internet services to wireless clients, WAP devices, such as mobile phones and terminals. In these companies have formed the WAP Forum and released the first WAP versions. The WAP Forum has become OMA, the Open Mobile Alliance which is now the authoritative source for WAP.

WAP is not a single entity, but a list of protocols and specifications.

WAP Forum's publicly available specifications for WAP 1.0, WAP 1.1, WAP 1.2, WAP 1.2.1 and July conformance release of WAP 2.0 specifications .