[OKFN-EN] Postal Address File campaign

[Harry Wood]

You have a heading "postcode licensing", but don't forget.... 

There is a "postcodes database" called CodePoint which is already open data. This covers some quite common use cases. e.g. find a postcode.  We can do this now! Go forth and build fun things! example: http://pcf.raggedred.net  

So I think it's important to use more precise language in relation to this campaign, and be clear about what we're campaigning for. It's called the "Postal Address File" (PAF). This is a database of every postal address in the country (including its postcode)  You can see PAF in action whenever you go to one of these websites which lets you type in your postcode and then pick your full address from the drop-down box.

The campaign message is the same. It's infrastructure. There would be huge economic benefit in allowing PAF data to flow freely to small companies and bedroom coders to do these address look-ups (and all manner of other inventive things). Privatising PAF ownership is a huge missed opportunity. It's also ignoring a european directive which (very sensibly) requires this kind of data to be open.

Harry Wood



________________________________
 From: Javier Ruiz <javier at openrightsgroup.org>
To: cpidp at lists.openrightsgroup.org 
Cc: "okfn-en at lists.okfn.org" <okfn-en at lists.okfn.org>; Open <Open>; Civil Society UK <ogp-cs-uk at lists.openrightsgroup.org>; Rights Group open discussion list <org-discuss at lists.openrightsgroup.org> 
Sent: Wednesday, 14 August 2013, 17:55
Subject: [OKFN-EN] ORG Open Data Update
 


ORG Open Data Update
August is proving a busy time for open data. There are several initiatives and consultations that end in the following weeks.
Postcodes licensing
Hundreds of ORG supporters joined many others, including Tim Berners-Lee, in asking minister Michael Fallon not to privatise the Postcode database. Our pressure was not enough to stop the sell-off, but we managed to get Fallon to offer an olive branch in the form of free access for “micro-firms”.
This is clearly not enough, and we need to continue reminding the government that the Postcodes are part of the core national data the government plans to open up.
We have an opportunity to raise this issue once again. There is a consultation on new licensing for the Postcode database.
The consultation closes at 5pm on Friday 20th September.
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