As I posted earlier this month I’d applied to the Office of Communications for the UK amateur radio callbook data in the hope of making the data available on-line via a custom search engine. Over a month passed without communications but things did start heating up, within the amateur radio community about Ofcom wanting to make this data public.
With issues of privacy which completely baffles me as the Radio Society of Great Britain make the data available via a paperback yearbook and PW Publishing make a CD and supply it for a couple of pounds. and nearly every other country makes this data available look at USA (FCC) and Australia.
Then last week I got an email from Ofcom saying that they’ve decided to suspended further distribution of the callbook data, whilst they explore options with the Information Commissioner’s Office. This oddly enough came the same week the RSGB confronted Ofcom over license database publication due to breach of the Data Protection Act, if this is the case are the RSGB not also at fault? or is there some licence which makes them “OK”. Either way I think personally that it comes down to the fact that if its made available it would effect there profits with the yearbook and callseeker cd.
So the wait continues the actual programming side of http://www.callbook.org.uk is finished, its just missing data I am tempted to import the US FCC data and at least get the callbook live and allow others to add there details but that really wasn’t what I had planned to do.
Its rather frustrating that Ofcom supplied a method to apply for the data under strict licence then revoke it within a month. I’ll keep everyone posted to how things plan out I definitely will not be giving up and will get the site online as soon as I can without breaking any laws myself 🙂
You could always grab it from ZHI’s site – he doesn’t seem too worried about making it available.
Charlie, although fair point I’m not sure if that will end up with me getting a legal letter from Ofcom but it could well be worth the risk!
Interesting problem. The information is already public in a sense, but putting the whole list on the internet makes it more readibly accessible. It’s the difference between the electoral roll gathering dust in the library or being out there on the Interwebs all searchable and cross references. Both are public, but one is rather more public than the other.
Now of course, if some US citizen were to make the infomation available on a US server of the reach of the Information Comissioner then it wouldn’t be an issue. Or put it on wikileaks…. mwahh ahh ahhhh!
Sure is Andy, Ofcom did put up some csv files which even google picked up but they’ve since been removed so I could maybe use them but its all hit and miss.
Putting it in the US is a rather interesting idea lol in theory that’s what G3ZHI has done as qsl.net is in some US data centre.
Oh what an annoying problem I’m in!