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On Sunday I saw my first implementation of GeoIQ in the wild in the form of a broadband speed map per carrier for Salt Lake City. The developer of the map asked what I thought of it. I thought I'd let the broader community respond.
- map at SLC Tribune [added since link above seems to be hard to see/find, etc.]
A new website will allow internet users to determine their computer or electronic device’s internet speed and help the state map its broadband coverage as the Abercrombie Administration moves forward with its Hawai’i Broadband Initiative. Participants can take the test at hawaiispeedtest.net. The data collected will assist the state in identifying and closing gaps in service throughout Hawai’i.
I'm not sure why they are behind other states who started such efforts months/years ago.
The [NY] State Liquor Authority is getting ready to launch a new interactive map, plotting each and every bar licensed in the city as well as all pending applications and violations bars have logged.
The map — which cost $75,000 to create — aims to help residents and community boards keep track of local bars, clubs and lounges in their neighborhoods. The design comes amid growing complaints from residents who believe rowdy bars and noisy drinkers are taking over their block.
The maps will hopefully make the lives of the overworked SLA easier and give residents the information once only available with a formal request.
- DNA Info
Hennepin County, MN offers the first update to its interactive property map in six years. It's based on new Esri software (old version was six years old) and has new data including links to surveyors’ maps, plat maps and survey certificates. Another big change - maps now fill more of the computer screen. The link takes you to the "old version" which has a link to the "new version."
Bike advocates in NYC are looking to crowdsource where riders are getting tickets (submission form, no map). The group has already had an impact of how Police enforce traffic laws for bikes within Central Park.
Vermont Governor Shumlin is calling on his constituents to help update the state's broadband map (which had errors - even at his house!)
If we can't get the data right, we can't get the service right. So we're asking for your help today, Vermonters. Go to BroadbandVT.org and check and see if the service that we think you have is the service that you really have. And then there's an interactive system by which you tell us the truth.
It all started when Shefaly Yogendra, a London-based investment consultant, saw a discussion on power cuts on her Twitter timeline and suggested to her friends, "May be you guys SHOULD tweet #powercut with location. The infographic will highlight the need for investment. To many people."
It's from the Dept of Education and can be found at Maps.ed.gov/Broadband. "The map is based on open data released last month by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). As you can see below, the result is a custom map that shows a unique story -- how schools' Internet access compares across the country."
DevelopmentSeed did the work, as I read it:
We worked with DOE to process and merge the two data sets, and then generated the new map tiles using Mapnik, an open-source toolkit for rendering map tiles. Then we created the custom overlay of schools and universities using TileMill, our open-source map design studio. Finally, a TileMill layer was added on top of the broadband data.
Karen Cator, Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the Department of Education, explains what the map says, on the Ed.gov blog.
The conclusions from the data show that community anchor institutions are largely underserved. For example, based on an analysis by state education technology directors, most schools need a connection of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students. However, the data show that two-thirds of surveyed schools subscribe to speeds lower than 25 Mbps. In addition, only four percent of libraries reported subscribing to speeds greater than 25 Mbps. To see which areas have quality access to a high-speed Internet connection and those that are reported underserved, visit the Education Broadband Map.
The New America Foundation and Google showed off another website that gathers, compiles and maps international broadband connection speed data.
The site, Measurement Lab, provides the broadband data for researchers. The site is a collaborative venture between the foundation, Google and the academic consortium PlanetLab. "The map presents data from the national level down to cities, making it one of the most detailed and expansive data sets available." MIchael Byrne deems the effort, which Google's Vint Serf acknowledges is a work in progress, as "fantastic." The visualizations are here.
Among the companies supporting the effort: Quova.
In other broadband map news:
The bipartisan technology policy group TechNet gathered government officials and leading broadband scholars Tuesday to present the first set of academic research using data from the national broadband map.
Further, details on locally managed broadband in cities is being mapped.
More than 130 US cities now operate such publicly owned broadband networks, according a comprehensive new map developed by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). The group compiled what it calls the first-ever such list of 54 city-wide fiber networks and 79 city-wide cable networks "whose objective is to maximize value to the community in which they are located rather than to distant stockholders and corporate executives."
