Yeah, it's ludicrous. Allononemap (nestoria-like house price map company) actually cleverly scraped the Sitefinder data from Ofcom a few months ago, and reproduced it on their own site. And didn't get sued.
But now they seem to have vanished. Does anyone know what happened to them? Maybe they'd donate the data to the public domain. Anna 2009/1/21 Alexander Harrowell <[email protected]> > Apparently it's OK to get base stations by post code, but would be > CRIMINALLY TERRORIFIC!! to get post codes by base station. In case you > wanted to, y'know, find out which post code you were from GSM location data, > *and then steal the entire post code*. > > Further, if they are worried about TETRA nodes, why not just.... > > .... > ... > .... > > not include the TETRA ones? > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Shilpa Patel <[email protected]> > Date: Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 9:16 AM > Subject: Re: Sitefinder - 1-87729731 > To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > > > Dear Mr Harrowell > > > > Access to Sitefinder Database ** > > Case reference: 1-87729731 > > Thank you for your enquiry of Sitefinder requesting data about the base > stations ID. > > *What is this information?* > > > > The information you have requested comprises data found within Ofcom's > Sitefinder database www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk* *. Sitefinder is the > national data base of mobile phone base stations. Sitefinder allows you to > find out about the location, summary technical characteristics of and the > operator's name of mobile masts in a small area (for further information, > please see *Annex 3*). > > > > However, the data in Sitefinder is owned by the mobile network operators, > who supply it to us on a voluntary basis for the purpose of running the > Sitefinder search engine. Ofcom does not have their consent to release the > information you have asked for. > > *Why are we not disclosing this information?* > > As we consider that the information you have requested is Environmental > Information, in that it relates to mobile base station data, Ofcom has > considered your request under the Environmental Information Regulations > 2004, SI 2004 No.3391 (the 'Regulations'), (as it is required to do under > section 39 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000). > > In addition, each mobile operator owns the intellectual property rights in > the source data and to disclose this information would adversely affect such > rights. > > In this case, Ofcom considers that the release of the data would adversely > affect public safety. If the information requested were made public, it > would provide assistance to criminals intent on stealing materials from base > station sites by increasing the efficiency of a trawl of the most valuable > sites in an area. > > Also, Ofcom considers it would assist criminals to target specific > geographic areas by identifying key locations vital to the Police and other > critical communications infrastructure. > > Ofcom therefore has decided not to disclose the requested information as it > falls under the exceptions in Regulation 12 (5) (a) and (c) of the > Regulations. In applying these exceptions, Ofcom has to balance the public > interest in withholding the information against the public interest in > disclosure. The *Annexes A* and *B* below set out the exceptions in full, > as well as the factors Ofcom has considered in deciding the public interest > is in not disclosing the information in this case. > > *The Sitefinder Appeal* > > > > You may have read about legal proceedings which are ongoing to consider > whether Ofcom is obliged under the Regulations to disclose the entire > Sitefinder database. Further information on this is provided at *Annex > C*below, but until the legal process is concluded, we are not required to > supply this information to the requester in those legal proceedings. > > *Other ways to obtain the data* > > This said, if you require the Sitefinder data for research or other > purposes, you may wish to contact the Mobile Operators' Association to > request the provision of the information you are seeking (or, alternatively, > contact the individual operators). The Mobile Operators' Association is at > Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EE, e-mail: * > [email protected]*, web: *www.mobilemastinfo.com*. The contact details for > the individual operators are available at *www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk*. > > If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. If you are > unhappy with the level of service you have received in relation to your > request from Ofcom, please see the guidance below. Please remember to quote > the reference number above in any future communications. > > > > Yours sincerely > > > > Shilpa Patel > > Ofcom > > > > > > > > If you are unhappy with the response or level of service you have received > in relation to your request from Ofcom, you may ask for an internal > review. If you ask us for an internal review of our decision, it will be > treated as a formal complaint and will be subject to an independent review > within Ofcom. We will acknowledge the complaint and inform you of the date > by which you might expect to be told the outcome. > > > > The following outcomes are possible: > > > > • the original decision is upheld; or > > • the original decision is reversed or modified. > > > > Timing** > > > > If you wish to exercise your right to an internal review *you should > contact us within two months of the date of this letter*. There is no > statutory deadline for undertaking internal reviews and it will depend upon > the complexity of the case, but we aim to conclude all internal reviews > within 2 months. If you wish to request an internal review, you should > contact: > > > > Graham Howell > > The Secretary to the Corporation > > Ofcom > > Riverside House > > 2a Southwark Bridge Road > > London SE1 9HA > > > > Apply directly to the Information Commissioner** > > > > If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have > the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. > The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: > > > > Information Commissioner's Office > > Wycliffe House > > Water Lane > > Wilmslow > > Cheshire > > SK9 5AF > > > > * * > > *ANNEX A* > > > > Annex A** > > > > Environmental Information Regulations 2004 > > *Exception in full – Regulation 12 (5) (a)* - a public authority may > refuse to disclose information to the extent that its disclosure would > adversely affect – public safety.** > > > > *Factors for disclosure * > > > > • Accessible information of the complete national dataset of mast > sites in the UK > > * * > > *Factors for withholding* > > * * > > • To make the national dataset available in a comprehensive and > searchable form would: > > > > Provide assistance to criminals, aiding them in stealing materials from > base station sites by increasing the efficiency of a trawl of the most > valuable sites in an area, which in turn might make the mast a danger to the > public and to the personnel of the mobile operators; and, > > > > Compromise the security of the TETRA sites which provide the Police and > Emergency Service radio network. If the national dataset was made public > persons would be able to target and close down specific geographic areas by > identifying key locations vital to the police communication infrastructure. > If this were to happen, police officers in the field would not be able to > respond to emergency police calls which would adversely affect those in need > of such support. > > *Reasons why public interest favours withholding information * > > > > • To preserve the safety of the public and the integrity of the > Emergency Services' communications network - in order to protect: the public > and personnel of the mobile operators from the consequences of the theft of > mobile masts materials and vandalism of mobile masts; and, the essential > police radio communications that are necessary for public safety without > which as mentioned above police officers in the field would not be able to > respond to emergency police calls. Also, it is in the public interest not to > disclose a national dataset as to do so would mean that the mobile operators > would be unlikely to provide voluntarily the level of information to Ofcom > that they do at present. > > > > > > *ANNEX B* > > Environmental Information Regulations 2004 > > *Exception in full – Regulation 12 (5) (c) - * a public authority may > refuse to disclose information to the extent that its disclosure would > adversely affect – intellectual property rights.** > > *Factors for disclosure * > > • Accessible information of the complete national dataset of mast > sites in the UK > > *Factors for withholding* > > The source data for Sitefinder is voluntarily supplied by its owners, the > network operators, for open publication in an agreed format. Each mobile > operator owns the intellectual property rights in the source data. To > disclose this information on a national basis would adversely affect such > rights. For example, to provide the raw data in other forms would provide > sections of the public (such as competitors) with a 'springboard' from which > to construct the original data, namely the design of each operator's 2G and > 3G networks. > > *Reasons why public interest favours withholding information* > > • The aggregate raw data that the mobile operators provide to > Ofcom for Sitefinder is neither Crown/Ofcom owned nor public knowledge at > the time of its disclosure to Ofcom. The data is disclosed by the mobile > operators for the specific and limited purpose of compiling Sitefinder and > for presentation to the public in the agreed format. It is in the public > interest to protect their commercial interests in this data. Also, it is in > the public interest not to disclose a national dataset as to do so would > mean that the mobile operators would be unlikely to provide voluntarily the > level of information to Ofcom that they do at present. > > > > > > *ANNEX C* > > *About Sitefinder* > > Sitefinder was set up, initially by the Radiocommunications Agency (now a > part of Ofcom), in order to make information about mobile phones masts and > installations available to the general public. It was intended to be a > general resource for people wishing to inform themselves about individual > base stations in a local area. > > It was set up following the Stewart Report which made recommendations to > Government of information that might be generally useful and the Government > balanced these suggestions against the concerns of Industry for protecting > their security and other sensitivities in their data. > > This process set the format for Sitefinder and the policy limitations for > the use of data. > > *The legal proceedings* > > In 2005, Ofcom received a request for the national Sitefinder dataset under > the Freedom of Information Act 2000. As the data relates to radio > emissions, Ofcom considered the request under the Environmental Information > Regulations 2004 and decided that there were exceptions to disclosing this > information. In September 2007, the Information Tribunal upheld an earlier > decision of the Information Commissioner directing Ofcom to release or > publish the Sitefinder national dataset. ( > http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DBFiles/Decision/i104/Ofcom.pdf) > > Ofcom appealed this decision to the High Court; the appeal was heard on 8 > th April 2008. The High Court's judgment dismissed Ofcom's appeal ( > http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/1445.html<http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2008/1445.html>). > Ofcom has been granted permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal this > judgment. > > *Sitefinder data* > > The data within Sitefinder is owned by the mobile network operators, who > supply it on a voluntary basis. Following discussions with contributors, > the mobile network operators (excepting T-Mobile and Airwave) supply updates > for Sitefinder, usually at around 3-4 month intervals and most contributors > endeavour to respond. However, as set out on the Sitefinder website > www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk . Ofcom cannot guarantee the accuracy or > currency of Sitefinder. > > Also, you should ensure that when using the information provided in any > way, including publishing the information, you comply with all relevant > legislation. For example, the information provided is protected by > copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended). > If in doubt, please seek independent legal advice. For Ofcom's policy on > copyright and related issues, please refer to our website at * > http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/accoun/disclaimer/*** > > *Linking to Sitefinder* > > If your purpose in requesting the data is to provide an information > service, you may wish to consider posting a link to Sitefinder to facilitate > individual postcode searches. Linking to Ofcom-hosted WebPages is permitted > as long as it loads in a new window, i.e. not a frame. For full details, > please see Ofcom's website disclaimer at: > http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/accoun/disclaimer/ > > *Health and planning issues* > > Wireless Telegraphy Act licences issued by Ofcom relate to the installation > and use of radio equipment. Ofcom does not have statutory > responsibilities for the planning of sites or health and is therefore unable > to comment substantively on such issues. The Health Protection Agency has > been given the responsibility by Government for providing information and > advice to the public and Government in relation to the health effects of > electromagnetic fields. Local authorities are responsible for managing > the local planning of mobile phone base stations and the Department for > Communities and Local Government (DCLG) can provide advice on the general > planning arrangements. > > We have published links to information, organisations and resources for > these areas at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/sitefinder/related_sites > > > > > ****************************************************************************************************************** > Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK > communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, > telecommunications and wireless communications services. > > For further details and to register for automatic updates from Ofcom on key > publications and other developments, please visit www.ofcom.org.uk > > This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended > solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. > > If you have received this email in error please notify the originator of > the message. This footer also confirms that this email message has been > scanned for the presence of computer viruses. > > Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, > except where the sender specifies and with authority, states them to be the > views of Ofcom. > > ****************************************************************************************************************** > > > _______________________________________________ > Mailing list [email protected] > Archive, settings, or unsubscribe: > https://secure.mysociety.org/admin/lists/mailman/listinfo/developers-public >
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