[okfn-discuss] Postcode data petition - unsure.

Wed Oct 14 13:09:30 UTC 2009

dear all,

I've seen posted today a petition to provide "non-profit and community
websites" with free access to the Royal Mail data - this is in the
wake of the statement from planningalerts.com that they are
considering withdrawing their service rather than pay licensing fees
to the Royal Mail - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7700621.stm
- thanks, James.

I'm doubtful enough about this not to sign the petition.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/nfppostcodes/

Open access for "non-profits" will create an administration burden, as
organisations need to be certified, some may not even be legal
entities yet be popular going concerns, proposed usage needs to be
evaluated. Lots of time needed from humans here.

There is a spectrum, not a line, between non-profit and for-profit
activity. There are plenty of organisations that make a surplus to be
reinvested in operations. There are plenty of websites out there
running Google AdWords to support running costs, money changes hands,
the behaviour is commercial. Politicians talk about social enterprise,
the third sector, does this description fit. There's also a lot of
potential non-"website" use in running mailling lists, canvassing
applications, would this be included.

Open access to postcode data for all, would be cheaper to run as well
as a more equitable position. There's a factoid from Rufus in a
Guardian article covering this discussion: "Rufus Pollock, a Cambridge
economist who co-wrote a study for the government on the economic
benefit of making trading funds' data free, calculates that making
PostZon free would bring an economic benefit 50% greater than Royal
Mail's present revenues."
And ultimately Royal Mail would make savings on staffing in licensing,
legal, distribution, security, which is hard, but it is the times.

cheers,

jo
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