AlternativeModels - Public Geo Data

Open Access to State-Collected Geospatial Data outlines a third-way model using a ShareAlike data license that would allow citizens access to the spatial information that describes them and which they have already paid to collect in a way which would improve the quality of data put into the public domain.

Alternatives operating in the world are:

Canadian Model

Since the KPMG study conducted in 2001 which recommended a move towards an open public geodata distribution model on economic grounds - that the cost savings in "cost-recovery" are actually illusory, and over 40% of NationalMappingAgencies data sales are to other government funded agencies - Canada has been moving towards an open access policy, but slowly.

http://geogratis.ca is their equivalent of a "one-stop portal" for access to state-collected spatial data.

The geogratis.ca folks have been working hard to make sure data that is free is available for access, but the amount of free core data is quite low. The main topographic mapping at the federal and provincial level is still almost all distributed on a fee basis. The only substantial exception is the province of Manitoba, which now provides free access to all their mapping data.

Geogratis.ca is the main source of free Canadian data. They have added a few major pieces, thanks to the Geobase initiative of the last years, which is supposed to be bringing a national road dataset, national hydrography dataset, national DEM, and national Landsat coverage into the public domain. Thus far, only the DEM and landsat have seen the light of day.
Canada has not really pioneered much of an alternative model, except insofar as the federal government firehosing money at the provinces to buy limited access to their data in support of the geobase initiatives. The roads network, for instance, I do not thing will even include address ranges (I could be wrong). Stuff keeps happening (StatsCan released their addressed road network, for example) but there is little evidence of a larger strategy working

out.

Australian Model

ANZLIC

...

Japanese Model

cf location based services charging model; spatial lookups on your mobile phone are free; the companies make back their costs in data traffic and extra services.

Canadian Model

Australian Model

Japanese Model

See Also