[Geodata] US Broadband Plan - Call for Participation

[Brian Hamlin]

Hello All from the San Francisco Bay Area, California -

   The US Federal Govt, Office of the White House, FCC and NTIA are 
mandated by a line item in the Federal Stimulus Bill (ARRA) to prepare 
a National Broadband improvement plan in about 15 weeks. I have called 
upon OSGeo to take a position for a transparent and participatory 
process, and am calling on the list for interested parties to speak up!

Here are some supporting items accrued so far:

http://www.broadband.gov/


Request for OSGeo  Board Meeting Agenda item:

   The US Federal Stimulus Act of 2009 ("ARRA") is creating both 
challenges and new opportunities as projects declared in the Act get 
underway. With regard to the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration - Broadband Technology Opportunities Program 
created by the ARRA, the OSGeo Board has issued a letter dated 03July09 
stating a strong backing of the concept of transparent and public 
geodata, and an interest in contacting principals close to the issue. 
Some members of the Board expressed that they may not have time to give 
this matter their full attention, if and when it proceeds.

   I propose that OSGeo designate a Point of Contact (p-o-c) in the US 
for this program. Further I propose that the Board designate this 
project as a priority for OSGeo in the United States.


-- Slides here --
http://71.202.181.1/osgeo/NTIA-initiative/base4.html

----
** SO the Board meeting went well.. The OSGeo Board directed that OSGeo 
produce a position paper by the end of this month.. There are multiple 
venues to present this..

  The US Point of Contact is not 100% resolved yet, but, we are looking 
at ways to gather resources to make this possible.

There are grants associated with this program from Washington DC
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/index.html

----
Following is a sketch of a position paper I wrote and sent out..
It covers multiple bases, but one thing to remember is that the Federal 
stakeholders process is discusssing all of Broadband in the US, while 
we at OSGeo are concerned with the mapping of broadband (primarily).. 
How is it aggregated? Where are the repositories? with what technology 
are the repos built? Who gets access? What are the revision controls? 
Where is the line of confidential vs public information, and under what 
review? How is it presented?



-----

ARRA Broadband Mapping Geo Data Architectural Considerations

* This is not a committee process
   - similarly ambitious architectures have taken years to complete
   - the timeline for this project is design to implementation in less 
than two years, more like first design running within months
   - but, there must be peer review, with a rational management process 
via FCC/NTIA and designated civilian representatives
   - there must be civilian and third party access, at all levels, with 
proper safegurads in place
   - there will be iterations; a successful architecture is flexible to 
evolution
   - INSPIRE/OSM/NZ as leading models; ESRI/Dept of Homeland Security, 
GEOSS, Google MyMaps as influences  ** others?? **
   - http://broadbandmap.govt.nz/map/

* Technically, the task is acheivable
   - current IT is more than capable of handling the repository, 
contributors, revisions and access
   - like the EU's INSPIRE, and GEOSS, interoperability, not 
homogeneity, is the lynch-pin

* Public and Open access to data is the default, not the exception
   - security and competitive concerns can be addressed as needed per 
case
   - states will have responsibility for the quality and content of 
their contributions, with recourse upon demonstrable shortcomings
   - forthcoming Berkman review paper cited

Architecture Diagram One
   ** this sketch shows Federal as the public view **

   (supply by carrier type and coverage; demand by location and category)
   (state repos are secure and privelaged access - federal and civilian 
designates have a r/w key)
   (federal repo has secure backend, fed by state repos - states and 
civilian designates have a r/w key)
   (public repo fed from secure federal repo with regulatory filtering)
   (public feedback to public repo - feedback is public, ala OSM)
   (public feedback to state repos)

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Brian Hamlin
OSGeo California Chapter
(415) 717-4462 cell