On 26/11/2018 12:07, Gregory Marler wrote:
The ODI have called on the government to pressure Google, Uber, Apple
into releaseing "mapping data"
https://theodi.org/article/we-call-on-the-government-to-work-with-google-apple-and-uber-to-publish-more-map-data-and-support-the-uks-emerging-technologies/
This got a fair amount of media attention last week in the Financial
Times and other places.
My reaction was a bit confused...
Mapping data = location of things? Don't need it, as Sir Tim Bernes-Lee
(ODI co-founder) already sings the praises of OpenStreetMap. Open data
at Ordnance Survey is also getting better (I thought we/ODI we focusing
on improving that, we all know govt could do better).
I think it's badly headlined, and badly reported. If you read the ODI's
actual submission to the consultation, what they are actually calling
for is for government agencies and contractors to release more data
under OGL or compatible licences. In particular, things like USRNs,
UPRNs, TOIDs, INSPIRE IDs, etc.
The ODI's argument is that the lack of open data makes it difficult, if
not impossible, for start-ups and other SMEs to compete with the giants
(such as Google and Apple), as they do not have the resources to
generate their own geospatial data and both the costs and conditions of
licensing non-free data makes it impractical for them to use.
I entirely agree with that, and I would hope that the OSM community
does, too.
Mark
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