OS Mapping Free Online From 2010

Ordnance Survey digital maps could be available available free online from April 2010 following an announcement by Gordon Brown yesterday.


The move is part of the Government's general commitment to freeing-up online data and is aimed not so much at outdoors people, but allowing people to interpret freely available statistical data geographically.

At the moment, online licensing of OS digital data is a complicated matter with small scale use being free, but commercial useage being subject to a licence fee making it an expensive business to reproduce Ordnance Survey mapping on the web.

The Ordnance Survey has long occupied a strange niche - half public body and half commercial which has made it extremely controversial among those who believe that publically-owned data has already been paid for and should be freely available to the public.

The Guardian, in particular, has run a vociferous Free Our Data campaign for the last three years, with Technology Editor Charles Arthur - a commited climber and walker - pushing hard to free up OS mapping.

The paper views the decision as a 'victory for the campaign' and in the words of the Free Our Data Blog: 'Do we scent victory? Hell yeah!'

Digital Mapping Implications...

One group that will be keeping a wary eye on the development are digital mapping software specialists like Anquet, Quo, Memory Map and ViewRanger and others.

Currently all these sell OS mapping data in a proprietary format, but the freeing up of data raises the prospect of web sites being able to use the same data without charging for it and duplicating the functionality of mapping software as long as you have web access.

Interesting stuff.

More information from news.bbc.co.uk and from the Guardian at www.guardian.co.uk.