[Board] US ARRA Broadband mapping

[Frank Warmerdam]

Folks,

Brian Hamlin (darkblue / <maplabs at light42.com>) has been following
activities in the US with regard to mapping broadband availability
with regard to use of stimulus funding to improve things.  He has
been investigating work by an advocacy group named Public Knowledge
in this area, and thinks there is an opportunity for us and them to
work together.  I believe the idea is that we would provide some
advocacy support, and that we would assist with provision of software
and support for their group to do the broadband mapping project.

If it proceeds there should be funding to support the work.

He has suggested we get in contact with them with a letter something
like the below.  Brian is on the road now and has limited online
capacity but I believe he plans to follow up with the board when he can.

If someone is interested in this topic they might want to learn more
about Public Knowledge at publicknowledge.org.  I am interested but
have limited capacity/time to followup.

==
TO: Public Knowledge et al
RE: ARRA Broadband Mapping Lobby

FROM: Open Source Geopsatial Foundation (OSGeo.org)
DATE: 22 June 2009

All-

It has come to the attention of our Board of Directors that Public Knowledge et 
al is engaging in lobbying on behalf of data transparency and open access to 
information pertaining to the ARRA Broadband Initiative.

We at OSGeo strongly support open data access as a public good, and the use of 
open, interoperable standards in software used to acquire, manage and 
disseminate public data.

There may be an opportunity to work together in a timely manner on this issue. 
Please consider arranging a conference call with appropriate parties in all 
possible haste, so that strategic options may be explored.

If you are not familiar with OSGeo, after a quick search on the web, you will 
find that OSGeo is the leading on-the-ground open source software development 
organition, comprising xx2 dozen projects and 100s of developersxxbragxx across 
the world and in the United States. As a coalition, OSGeo holds a unique role 
in advocacy of open standarads and open source, in a world where industry 
consolidation has produced a very small handfull of huge private firms, with 
the inevitable market tensions associated with maintaining their positions. We 
believe that OSGeo is very much in line with the spirit and intent of the push 
for transparent government and public access science. As such there may be a 
special opportunity to raise the bar for the kind of technology initiative as 
presented in the ARRA Broadband Initiative now and in the future.

best regards

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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Programmer for Rent