Tariffs on Geodata

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This world is currently an interesting place to be. The speed with which everything is in motion is far exceeding our preferred rates for continental drift and the likes. And the risk that this post is outdated on the day we publish it is very high.

But globalization seems to become a no-go topic. To protect themselves, countries apply tariffs and levies on everything crossing their borders. We try to imagine what the consequences would look like for geodata.

Take GNSS. Assuming that ownership of a satellite can be attributed to a single county, how about the receivers? If I use Apple Maps in Germany, for example, and my navigation is based on the American GPS signal, then I’m importing these signals as soon as they enter the airspace below 60km of altitude. Now, the tricky question is how to apply a 20% tariff on it. Does it mean, the remaining signal has only 80% of its expected strength or will accuracy be reduced by 20%, thus making an average 5m accuracy a 6m accuracy?

You think this is far fetched? Then look at China and its restrictions on geographic data. Positions are off and maps of China do not align outside China. This may also be considered some kind of tariff on data.

But back to the fun part: Everyone knows what3words. What if we put tariffs on this system? Do three words become 4.2 words if I send my friends in the US my position in Germany? And if they send the same position back to me, would another 20% be added? Altering w3w coordinates is quite tricky. For example, the American embassy in Berlin (///finishing.dodges.safety) can easily become an address near Boston, MA (///finishing.dogs.safety) (note: I withheld 33% of the letters of the middle word as a fee – and this can change from week to week as we have seen the changes of tariffs this month).

Self-reliance on GNSS data is possible for large countries and unions like the US, China, the European Union, Japan and India. But what about smaller countries which cannot afford to send their own satellites into space? Will they need to become satellite states? But this is a different geopolitical topic.

What happens, by the way, to our favorite topic: continental drift? Do countries drift with the continents or do continents enter geospatially fixed country borders? If so, what is the tariff on Eurasia entering Africa? Can we apply for some kind or roaming zone?

You see, we here at GEONATIVES have always thought on a global scale. If you look at the blue marble from outer space, borders vanish and tariffs should do the same. We are glad that our wills still remain free – for now.