Between the Poles

Europe's Digital Agenda review: EUROGI recommends geospatial including BIM, open data/services and an EU property service

In 2010 the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) was the first thematic strategy launched under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.  The European Commission launched the Europe 2020 Strategy with a vision to achieve high levels of employment, a low carbon economy, productivity and social cohesion.  The Digital Agenda for Europe is one of the seven flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

The Digital Agenda is the European Commission's strategy for using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the benefit Europe's society and economy for the period 2010-2015.  The Digital Agenda is linked to various other EU policies, such as the single market, consumer protection, research and innovation, industrial policy, regional and rural development, environmental sustainability, skills and culture, or healthcare. It is expected to contribute to major challenges such as climate change and the aging population.

In 2010 the Digital Agenda for Europe was the first thematic strategy launched under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.  In 2011 the Digital Agenda Scoreboard reported on the first year of implementation of actions as well as on progress on performance targets.

As of 1st July 2012, the DAE is being managed by the European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT).

EUROGI's submission to the DAE mid-term review

Given what we know about the contribution of geospatial technology to GDP from Australia and New Zealand, it is surprising that the DAE does not directly reference geospatial data and technology.  And given the importance of sustainability in the goals of the DAE and the recent EC prioritization of energy efficiency, it is also surprising that it does not mention the integration of building information modeling (BIM) and geospatial.  In response to the geospatial gap EUROGI, which is the umbrella organization for European geospatial organizations, has offered recommendations as part of the mid-term review of the DAE currently taking place.

EUROGI's recommendations are

Open geospatial data and services

Identify types of public sector generated geospatial data which should be made available within a range of access models, from no cost and no restrictions on usage to those requiring payment and with access restrictions.  Across Europe barriers to the use of the data still constitute constraints. INSPIRE and the PSI Directives aim to remove these barriers,  but further measures are needed.

Geolocating digital public sector information

Geotagging the huge volume of digital data, such as text documents, spreadsheets, pictures, videos, remote sensed data, and tweets, that is produced daily by state bodies at all levels would contribute to transparency about public policy, implementation, monitoring and review.

Building information modelling and geospatial information/services

Produce an outline of how best to promote building information modelling (BIM) and its full and seamless integration with geospatial data and services.  One of the most important technology advances transforming the EU construction and building industry is BIM.  Sustainability programs like BREEAM and  LEED require natural lighting, solar radiation, wind, renewable energy, and noise analyses all of which require integration of geospatial information with the building design information which is contained in BIM models.  BIM also enables greater understanding and transparency between public client stakeholders and citizens.

Integrated property information service

Develop an outline for a comprehensive European property information service.  Trillions of Euros are invested in property across Europe and yet there is no overall integrated multi-lingual property information service which facilitates seamless tracking of trends based on location, identifies financial flows, provides property details, explores the impact of natural hazards (eg flooding, landslides etc) and other factors. It could be argued that the presence of such a service may have contributed at least to some extent to predicting the disastrous property market collapses which have taken place in certain European countries.

European location strategy

A strategy for location is required to unlock the potential of location information for supporting the objectives set out in Europe 2020 such as job creation, social inclusion and environmental and development sustainability.

Realizing the potential of spatial data infrastructures

Establish a program to support sub-national and focused thematic Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) and set out minimum and desirable specifications to facilitate interoperability between these SDIs through open APIs.

Geospatial sector in a global context

Identify ways in which European geospatial companies can better compete in the global geospatial information and services market place.  The INSPIRE initiative is recognized throughout the world as a global leader in the SDI field and yet the increasing and deepening experience in harmonization processes across different cultures and languages is not fully being exploited internationally.

Developing the geospatial skills/knowledge base

The Commission should develop a strategy for supporting the expansion and deepening of geospatial skills.  Employment in the geospatial sector is expanding at a rate which exceeds overall economic growth levels but skills shortages remain.  This creates an opportunity in memeber states with high rates of unemployment.

Emerging trends and new opportunities

Support a process of regular reviews of emerging technology trends such as Internet of Things,
remote sensing, cloud computing, open data initiatives, seamless indoor/outdoor positioning, and social media which will impact the geospatial sector in order to identify opportunities for the EU ICT sector and the public sector.

Court rules universal telephone funds can be shifted to universal broadband access

A ruling last week by the Federal Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit upholds the change proposed by the FCC to the Universal Service Fund (USF) to refocus it on providing univeral broadband access in rural areas.  The USF was established in 1997 to subsidize voice telephone service in rural areas. The funds for the program come from a surcharge on telephone service.

Last October the FCC unanimously voted to overhaul the Universal Service Fund (USF).  While the source of USF funding will remain the same, the FCC's decision altered the focus of the program, with the subsidy now going to expanding broadband internet access in rural areas not currently served by internet service providers.

The FCC expects several benefits from the change in the USF program. First, by 2020 18 million Americans who currently do not have broadband internet access will get access, either wired and wireless.  Secondly, it also means improved access to government services, improved access to distance education, the potential for economic growth, and better health care for senior citizens.

Obama says infrastructure needs investment

President Obama in his State of the Union speech specifically called out infrastructure as requiring significant investment.  He said that "our infrastructure used to be the best", and mentioned countries such as Russia, China, South Korea, and several European countries that are ahead of the US in some sector of infrastructure.  He also referred to the American Society of Civil Engineers' Intrastructure Scorecard that assigned a grade of "D" to American infrastructure.

He said that the Administration is proposiing to redouble the rebuilding efforts that were initiated over the past two years and identified attracting private funding as important for this effort.  He specifically mentioned two initiatives.

High speed rail

Within 25 years the goal is to enable 80% of Americans to have access to high speed rail.  He mentioned routes in California and the Midwest that are already underway.

High speed wireless

Within 5 years the goal is to make it possible for businesses to provide 98% of Americans with access to the next generation of high speed wireless coverage.

FCC votes to transform rural universal voice access fund to broadband

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted unanimously to transform the Universal Service Fund (USF) and intercarrier compensation system (ICC) into a new Connect America Fund. The Connect America Fund will have a budget of US$4.5 billion to accelerate broadband build-out to Americans living in rural areas who currently have no access to broadband infrastructure.  The FCC estimates that 18 million Americans living in unserved rural areas will receive access to broadband over the next decade.

A National Broadband Plan was mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  The plan was released in March 2010. Some of the broad goals of the plan over the next decade include

• Move the US broadband adoption rate from 65 percent to more than 90 per cent
• Make affordable broadband available to rural communities, schools, libraries, and vulnerable populations by transitioning existing Universal Service Fund support from voice to IP

Europe's Digital Agenda Scoreboard: 65% of EU population regularly uses the internet

A scoreboard has been published by the European Commission showing the performance after one year in delivering on the agreed targets of the Digital Agenda for Europe.  The Scoreboard incorporates data and analysis previously found in the Commission's annual Progress Report on the Single European Electronic Communications.  Some of the highlights include

Regular Internet use

65% of the EU population regularly uses the internet.  The target is 75% by 2015. Non-users have fallen from 30% to 26% of the population.

Online shopping

40% of EU citizens now shop online.

eGovernment

41% of citizens use eGovernment services.

Broadband

The objective is to provide every European access to basic broadband by 2013 and fast and ultra fast broadband by 2020.

Cross-border eCommerce

Increased from 8.1 to 8.8% in 2010. The Digital Agenda target is 20% of citizens shopping online across borders by 2015.

Online presence of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

In 2010 26% of SMEs purchased online, but only 13% of SMEs sold online.

National Broadband Map Launched in US

The NTIA, in collaboration with the FCC and the states, territories and District of Columbia have launched a  broadband map with more than 25 million records showing where broadband Internet service is available, the technology used to provide the service, the maximum advertised speeds of the service, and the names of the broadband providers. 

You can either use the on-line app or download the entire dataset.  If you go to the web site and enter your address, you'll get a list of broadband providers in your area.  The NTIA intends to update the map every six months, but it also intends to crowdsource a lot of the data. 

The first day the map went live, the site received 158 million hits.

Broadband May Be Reclassified as a Telecom Service

It looks like Congress may be willing to agree to redefine broadband as a telecommunications service if some of the rules that apply to phone companies such as pricing and billing oversight, are relaxed for internet network owners.  Broadband is now defined as an information service which means there is weak FCC oversight.  This would give the FCC more regulatory control and among other things would make it easier for the FCC to implement the National Broadband Plan, which would expand broadband penetration dramatically in the US. The FCC's ability to implement the broadband plan was threatened by a recent court ruling.

Court Decides against the FCC on Net Neutrality

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has decided that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) does not have the authority to impose Net neutrality regulations on Internet providers.  The decision was made in the context of a court case against Comcast for throttling certain internet applications. 

Net neutrality is supported by Vinton Cerf of Google and others and opposed by Bob Kahn and others.  Carriers like Verizon tend to oppose it.

The FCC in its role as regulator of interstate communications does have other options, for example, imposing common carrier-style regulation.

FCC Application Allows You to Test Your Broadband Bandwidth

The FCC's Consumer Broadband Test enables US consumers to test the quality of their broadband connections.  The FCC says it may use data collected when you run the Consumer Broadband Test, along with a street address you may have contributed, to analyze broadband quality and availability geographically across the US.  Two consumer broadband testing tools have been selected by the FCC for this test which measures bandwidth and latency.  There is also a free Mobile Consumer Broadband Test for the Apple iPhone and Android mobile platforms called the “FCC Broadband Test.”

America's 2020 Broadband Vision Plan Executive Summary Released by the FCC

A National Broadband Plan was mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act a year ago.  After an open consultation process, the Executive Summary of the Plan was released today.  The full Plan will be released tomorrow.  Some of the Plan’s recommendations will be implemented by the FCC, while others require government legislation or executive orders from various levels of government.

The broad goals of the Plan over the next decade include

• Connect 100 million households to affordable 100-megabits-per-second service
• Provide affordable access in every American community to ultra-high-speed broadband of at least 1 gigabit per second at institutions such as schools, hospitals, and military installations
• Open 500 megahertz of spectrum for licensed and unlicensed wireless broadband use
• Move the US broadband adoption rate from 65 percent to more than 90 per cent
• Make affordable broadband available to rural communities, schools, libraries, and vulnerable populations by transitioning existing Universal Service Fund support from voice to IP
• Ensure greater transparency, fewer barriers to entry, and market-based analysis with quality data on price, speed, and availability ( the FCC has introduced an application for testing broadband bandwidth )
• Provide every first responder with access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable public safety network.