Like WAP, iMode is a way of providing information to mobile devices. iMode is however slightly different from WAP in that it uses cHTML as a markup language, and uses more traditional internet protocols to deliver it. Or rather, less of the new wireless protocols. The content is served using HTTP to a so called iMode center which in a way works like the WAP gateway. One major difference is that this iMode center is under the control of the developers of iMode, NTT DoCoMo. In WAP, gateways are and can be owned by virtually anyone with an internet connection. The iMode center performs protocol conversions which enable the content to be delivered to the phone.

Although there's nothing preventing iMode's "single" gateway structure from handling a large number of users, it creates a sort of monopoly that the US and European markets will most likely not agree to. It is also very likely that this structure will be changed as iMode, like WAP, evolves.