Which is why, at the risk of sounding effusive, ITFinity Solutions, comeslike a breath of fresh air. Driven by technology, here is a company with acompelling idea and an equally compelling vision.

Of August '99 vintage, the company operates in a space that is relativelyunchartered territory on the Internet -- Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).It's the kind of technology that delivers the Internet to a mobile phone orfor that matter, to any hand held device like a personal digital assistant(PDA) for instance. It's also adding a new word to the Queens English --m-commerce. M for mobile.

The core team comprises two ex-Citibankers, Krishna Jha, CEO and HemantAttray, the CTO. Says Jha, "We're basically technology people and wouldrather stick to that."

Essentially, what Jha and Attray are doing is to create applications thatwill power the development of WAP.

To draw a simple analogy, the reason, Microsoft's operating system is sopopular is that there are a slew of applications designed to work on it.Outlook, the e-mail client that is now embedded with the operating system isa case in point. That is also the reason why the Mac is not as popular.

There are fewer applications that are compatible with the system. Linux isgaining ground because more application developers are hitching their wagonto the systems being developed. This is precisely why ITFinity has a greatchance. It is one of those few who are building applications which will workon the operating systems that are being tailored to meet the demands of WAP.Incidentally, the company is talking to companies that developmicro-browsers for such devices. If the deal comes through, applicationsdeveloped by ITFinity will be embedded in the micro-browsers and thepotential revenue streams look awesome.

There is another good reason to justify ITFinity. Existing realitiesindicate that over time, real Internet penetration in India will comethrough a mixture of public information kiosks and handheld devices. To thatextent, ITFinity is sitting on an impossible number of possibilities.Add to this the fact that over the next couple of months, all cell phonesthat will roll out of assembly lines will be WAP-enabled, holds goodportents for companies like this.

In the same breath, it must be mentioned that at current prices, WAP phonescan be pretty expensive and are traded in the region of Rs 25,000. Thecaveat being that in the near future, these prices are bound to take ahammering and will be a great deal more affordable.

The most obvious question that comes up then is this: If WAP is thetechnology of the future and cellular operators accept this reality, what isto prevent them from developing these applications themselves instead ofgoing in for partners. Jha has an answer. "Because WAP is not where theirrevenue model lies." Instead, he says, it lies in selling more phones andgetting more people to use their lines more frequently.

If people are to be convinced on that count, value added services have to beprovided. And what WAP can offer, is endless. After all, who wouldn't beexcited if they can have access to a stock quote while on the move and beable to take a call on whether to hold on or sell out. There's anotherreason Jha and Attray are excited. They've cracked a problem. As such, WAPcannot be accessed on a PC's browser. But their technology allows that. It'sthe kind of excitement that cannot be shared for those outside the developerworld. For those who know and understand though, the joy ought to be seen.