1. Geospatial Information as a Utility?
March 13, 2017
David Alexander, Ph.D.
Chief Geospatial Scientist First Responders Group Science & Technology Directorate

2. Is it time for a paradigm shift in provisioning geospatial information?
How the geospatial information market is starting to look more and more like a utility marketplace.
What does this mean to the National Spatial data Infrastructure?
Is it feasible for Federal agencies to acquire geospatial data as a utility-service?

3. What is a Utility?
Prevailing definition: a utility provides a commodity or service that is considered vital to the general public.
Most common types of utilities are
Commercial Utilities:
Telephone
Electricity
Natural Gas
Cable Television
Broadband
Financial Utility Services
Public Utilities:
Water
Sewage/storm water
DHS Science and Technology Directorate | MOBILIZING INNOVATION FOR A SECURE WORLD

4. Common Practices in Utility Markets
Because a utility service is a vital need, historically it has been deemed by state and federal lawmakers to be in the public interest to regulate its provision.
To prevent price gouging and encourage widespread access, historically the government has granted individual utilities certain monopoly rights, accompanied by the right to regulate price as well as service terms and conditions.
This is changing for some utility sectors such as the telephone and broadband communications industry which is becoming more dominated by national firms.
Most common business models are based on user fees and consumption rates.
Utilities are mostly provisioned at the community level.
Government is focused on issues of standards, interoperability, fair pricing, and quality.

5. How Geospatial Information is like a Utility service
Consumers expect geospatial information to be delivered with just as much consistency, reasonable pricing, and reliable service as their electricity, telephone, and water service.
Think of it this way: Consumers already think of geospatial information as a utility. They expect to have maps, directions, and other features powered by location-based services when they turn it on. They don’t really care what happens behind the scenes.
It’s already in the devices and services consumers use the most – their cell phone, automobile, 911, etc.
Geospatial information market is already embracing core principles of the utility industry:
Scale and cost
Availability
Service
Innovation
DHS Science and Technology Directorate | MOBILIZING INNOVATION FOR A SECURE WORLD

6. Example Utility-services in Geospatial Information Market
Global Positioning System is a federal utility that provides Position Navigation and Timing Services to the Nation.
Europe Union’s Galileo as a utility type fee for service competitor to GPS
Continuously Operating Reference Stations are a hybrid utility comprised of public, academic, and private firms that provide carrier phase and code base measurements for precise geodetic control.
Earth Observation System is evolving into a hybrid utility market comprised a mix of public and private entities that provide imagery and remote sensing services.
Private firms are already offering weather services
New Micro-sats are poised to offer satellite imagery services
Private sectors already supplies aggregation services for geospatial information from government sources such as addresses and parcels
DHS Science and Technology Directorate | MOBILIZING INNOVATION FOR A SECURE WORLD

7. Implications
The geospatial information industry is evolving toward a utility marketplace that parallels markets such as electricity, water, natural gas, and broadband. Generally, these markets encompass a mix of public and private entities.
The Nation’s spatial data infrastructure is starting to looks more and more like a traditional utility service infrastructure comprised of generation, transmission, and distribution sectors in geospatial information.
What is the appropriate role of the government in this new geospatial information market reality?
Is a utility type business model feasible for federal agencies?
What are the challenges? Open data?
What can the geospatial industry learn from other utilities such as cable and entertainment in relation to streaming and digital rights management?
Buy the answer or buy the data? Or buying access to data on demand?