Short description: The Spanish Standard UNE 148004:2018 “Open Geographic Data”, published by AENOR, defines geographic data as those data "that implicitly or explicitly refer to an Earth´s location”. The standard goes on to define open geographical data, which is a little longer and more complex. The open data explanation, elaborated by the Technical Standardisation Committee 148, is based on multiple sources, although one of its main pillars is the definition established by Open Knowledge International and published at http://opendefinition.org/. UNE 148004:2018 enriches this definition based on 3 principles:

1. Principle of minimisation of barriers: Data must be made available to citizens free of charge, avoiding any technical, administrative or legal barrier that prevents or limits their use;
2. Principle of non-discrimination: Data access conditions must be equal for all users, without any privileges for particular user groups;
3. Principle of technological neutrality: According to the National Interoperability Scheme, described by RD 4/2010, of January 8, 2010, it is necessary to use open standards, which operate independently of the operating system and any communications or software layer. This helps to avoid user discrimination by technology, as the previous principle indicates.

Once these principles are defined, the UNE 148004:2018 Standard details what requirements open geographic data must meet. In accordance with the Standard, geographic data can be considered to have “free access” if they are: available, documented, under an open licence and in an open format.

The fact that these requirements help in determining if a geographic dataset is open or not is a useful guide for all those public organisations that want to open this kind of information, facilitating standardisation and interoperability. UNE 148004:2018 is, therefore, a necessary standard.

Recommendations: Standardisation and Reuse (12)