Geospatial

• Geospatial data describes data related to or containing information about specific location(s) on the Earth's surface, including 3D details. A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework that provides the ability to capture and analyze spatial and geographic data. 
• Geospatial activities include the gathering, display, manipulation, and analysis of geo-referenced data, fed by satellite navigation/positioning systems and satellite imagery, as well as real-time and historical data.
• Applications of geospatial analysis include ICT infrastructure gap analysis and connectivity modelling, climate change modelling, weather monitoring, tracking human and animal population distributions, and planning telecommunication systems. GIS applications are used to predict, manage, and learn about different phenomena affecting the Earth, its systems, and its inhabitants.
• The evolution of information and communication technologies (ICTs), data processing techniques, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as the availability of higher resolution data, have resulted in an explosion in geospatial information usage and processing.
• Common standards are needed to maximize the use, sharing and analysis of geospatial data. However, changing user requirements, industry changes, and an evolving regulatory and policy environment are all creating new challenges for international cooperation.
  

​Geospatial analysis involves the gathering, display, and manipulation of geo-referenced data, satellite position systems, satellite imagery and new data types (real-time or historical), making use of explicit geographic coordinates or identifiers used in geographic models. It can bolster data-driven decision-making in the roll-out of ICT networks to provide connectivity to underserved and unconnected communities.

National governments and local authorities need information about a country, the environment, assets, people, and its physical and social infrastructure to encourage economic development, entrepreneurial activity, transparency, or national security.

Different countries have adopted public National ICT Mapping Systems, according to their national needs to assess national connectivity. For example, broadband maps can inform investors, companies, and citizens about the status of networks, quality of service, 5G or Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) service availability, network resilience, among others. 

Fifth-generation mobile technology (5G) needs accurate geospatial data and denser telecom networks, with significantly higher numbers of base stations than traditional mobile networks. Accurate geographical data and advanced spatial analytics can help ensure that these radio networks are cost-effective and efficient and improve smart transportation and intelligent traffic management systems. ITU has conducted a survey of the public National ICT Mapping Systems, available at https://bbmaps.itu.int/portal. 

 Recently, geospatial analysis has advanced considerably in terms of its:

1. Scope, precision, accuracy and granularity.
2. Easier and faster transmission, analysis and manipulation (e.g. the connectivity of mega-constellations of satellites);
3. The number and type of devices equipped with geospatial and location identification (which can include satellite, mobile, fibre, IoT devices, sensor networks, as well as connected cars and vehicles).

These developments mean that geospatial data and information are now used for many different use cases, from the global level to the local level, including for monitoring, verifying and/or confirming:

• Identification of access to digital network gaps, availability of existing infrastructure and geospatial models, and business planning to improve connectivity of underserved or under-connected communities.
• Climate modelling and weather prediction; monitoring local weather, seasonal or climatic systems (e.g. the El Niño effect);
• Urban use cases, including intelligent transport systems, autonomous vehicles, gas emissions, and monitoring traffic congestion in real-time.
• Natural disasters (e.g. extent of landslides or flooding) and coordination of relief efforts.
• Identifying and mapping facilities, e.g. schools, clinics, refugee camps.
• Monitoring abuse of human rights (e.g. treatment of refugee populations).
• Identifying archaeological sites of interest.
• Mapping land use and deforestation and/or estimating crop yields.
• Estimating poverty and income levels (e.g. from the quality of roof materials);
• The migration of animal populations.​
  

Different concepts, software and taxonomies can give different meanings or interpretations to the same data in creation or storage. There is a need for common standards or taxonomies to maximize the use, sharing and analysis of geospatial data in smart cities, and help scale smart city projects.

However, changing user requirements, industry changes, and an evolving regulatory and policy environment are all creating new challenges for international cooperation. Who has the right to access geospatial data, and how can misuse be prevented?

Enabling effective collaboration between the stakeholders responsible for different aspects of geospatial analysis, global or local, is a challenge. Different stakeholders have different interests and incentives. Even small differences in data formats can make data sharing or exchange difficult or even impossible or result in loss of information or changes to the structure or meaning of the data.

ITU has worked with geospatial information for decades since it first established the international numbering system for telephony and assigned codes to countries under the original "International public telecommunication numbering plan". For example:

• ITU-T Technical Report TR.CLE (06/2020), "Identify call location for emergency services", identifies the call location of fixed and mobile devices for emergency services, helping save time and lives in emergencies.
• ITU is working on the regulatory and privacy-related aspects of geospatial information – for example, concerning mobility of mobile phones or the security aspects of connected cars.
  
• ITU facilitates international radio frequency spectrum management and the efficient use of orbital resources by various means, including the use of geospatial radio-meteorological information to avoid harmful interference between terrestrial and space services. 

Today, ITU uses geospatial data and services to:

• ​Perform accurate technical examinations to ensure operations of radiocommunication systems free of harmful interference.
• Provide software tools (including GIS display) to assist ITU members in their radio frequency planning activities to comply with the ITU Radio Regulations and Regional Agreements. The ITU Digitized World Map (IDWM[1]) and Subroutine Library represent a database of international geographical data and technical data related to the Radio Regulations and Regional Agreements.
• Provide online platform to allow the membership to perform propagation prediction calculations which make use of geospatial data, including the choice between several publicly available Digital Terrain Models (DTM).
• ITU publishes Geoportals (using the open-source technologies GeoServer and Geonetwork) making geospatial data publicly accessible. The ITU Geocatalogue refers to different geospatial data sources focusing on assistance used in processing infrastructure analysis and scenarios: https://bbmaps.itu.int/geocatalogue 

 ITU has developed various ICT standards that include the use or transport of geospatial data:

• Recommendation ITU-T Q.3615 (2015), "Protocol for GeoSMS", defines the protocol for 'GeoSMS' which can be used to encode location information.
• Recommendation ITU-T H.460.25 (2010) defines the parameters and method for the exchange of geographic information between ITU-T H.323 entities. Geographic information may be either coordinates (i.e., longitude, latitude and altitude) or addresses (e.g., city and street address).
• Recommendation ITU-T L.262/L.94 (2015), "Use of global navigation satellite systems to create a referenced network map", gives guidelines on the creation, operation and maintenance of telecom network map using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and geo-referenced systems.
• Recommendation ITU-T F.747.7 (2014), "Requirements for network-based location information conversion for location-based applications and services", enables location information to be accessed and understood by multiple applications and services.
• Recommendation ITU-T F.747.5 (2014), "Requirements and functional architecture of an automatic location identification system for ubiquitous sensor network (USN) applications and services", describes automatic location identification in sensor networks. The automatic location identification (ALI) capability enables a device to discover its own location in various networks such as a mobile network, the Internet, or a low-power wireless network.
• Recommendation ITU-T E.813 (under approval), "Mapping and visualization strategies for the assessment of connectivity" defines a high-level framework for mapping and visualization strategies with guidelines on identifying and measuring connectivity and specifications for tools and functionalities to effectively represent the status of connectivity.
• Recommendation ITU-T Y.4473 (2020), "SensorThings API - Sensing" specifies a OGC SensorThings application programming interface (API) which provides an open standard-based and geospatial-enabled framework to interconnect Internet of things devices, data, and applications over the Web.
• Recommendation ITU-T Y.4604 (2023), "Metadata for camera sensing information of autonomous mobile IoT devices" specifies metadata for camera sensing information (MCSI) for autonomous mobile Internet of things (IoT) devices.
• Draft Recommendation ITU-T Y.MIM, "Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities" defines the concept, purpose, and structure of Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) that provide the requirements for implementing the minimal but sufficient capabilities needed to achieve interoperability.
• The report "Redefining smart city platforms: Setting the stage for Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms" from the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) Initiative outlines guidelines on sharing geospatial data and making them interoperable with, within, and between systems and territories. 

ITU is providing various tools for geospatial analysis to help its membership understand network gaps to improve network roll-out:

• ​​The ICT Infrastructure Connectivity Maps enable visualization of different geo-reference and ITU data into an interactive map (https://bbmaps.itu.int/app).
• A complete list of geospatial-related products for telecom development can be found at: https://bbmaps.itu.int
• Disaster Connectivity Maps can help responders determine the status of network coverage and performance before and after a disaster: https://dcm.itu.int.
• School connectivity maps can be prepared for partners and beneficiary countries. The Maps depict infrastructure and connectivity scenarios for schools and educational centres.
• Geocatalogue for ICT development provides a list of geo-referenced data sources provide by different organizations: https://bbmaps.itu.int/geocatalogue;
• Data dictionaries supporting the harmonization of data request and usage for ICT gap analysis field work: https://bbmaps.itu.int/geocatalogue/data-dictionary.
• The ITU Academy offers free, self-paced training. The Basic level training: https://bbmaps.itu.int/training-introduction. Broadband mapping combined with modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and practical knowledge of open-source tools supports efficient identification of connectivity gaps, network planning, and support for decision-making. This training offers an introductory path to anyone interested in embarking on the exciting broadband mapping journey. The advanced training (https://bbmaps.itu.int/training-advanced) includes data standards and storage; geospatial ICT Infrastructure analysis and an Open Fiber Data Standard.
• The Spectrum Management System for Developing Countries (SMS4DC) uses digital maps to display terrain data that are key for spectrum management.
• The  Digital Terrestrial Television transition (DSO database) highlights the status of the transition to digital television, offering a global perspective.
• ITU has developed an ArcGIS StoryMap for the Global E-waste Monitor 2020, which includes interactive maps with spatial data - https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Pages/Toolbox/Country-Story-Maps.aspx.
  
• The Broadband Transmission Capacity Indicators (BTCI) includes 7 Indicators that are used for the data research of terrestrial fibre networks. Indicator 1 tracks transmission network length (in km), and indicator 7 monitors the population within reach of transmission networks.

With regards to AI and geospatial data, the AI for Good platform organizes a series of events on Geospatial AI (GeoAI). The GeoAI Discovery Channel features various topics including the basics of GeoAI; education and capacity building; machine learning and citizen science, disaster response, climate change, Intelligent Transport systems (ITS), smart cities, 5G, digital twins, agriculture, water and food, standards, ethics and GeoAI.

The current focus of the series is on Geospatial Large Language Models and on GeoAI and Education.

 The GeoAI Challenge aims to promote the use of AI in geospatial analysis and engage participants from the private sector, academia, national and international organizations to solve problems of relevance for the SDGs, through the use of publicly available datasets. 

ITU also collaborates with external stakeholders on various issues to do with geospatial data, including with the UN GGIM UN Geospatial Network (as a member of the Steering Committee), the UN Open GIS Initiatives (as co-chair of the GeoAI and Analytics working group), the World Geospatial Industry Council and includes in its Sector Members the Open Geospatial Consortium and private companies.

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The recordings of the webinars from the GeoAI Discovery Channel can be accessed at https://aiforgood.itu.int/eventcat/discovery-geoai/. 

The ITU Broadband Mapping portal can be found at https://bbmaps.itu.int/portal. Consult https://bbmaps.itu.int/training-introduction to access the ITU Academy Self-Paced training, offered free-of-charge, to get acquainted to basic concepts of geospatial and broadband mapping. See also Why Broadband Mapping is key for Universal Connectivity? ITU video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMIwISDVy_0 

ITU publishes new ICT Infrastructure Business Planning Toolkit - ITU News 

"ITU's geospatial activities relevant for the Sustainable Development Goals". UN Geospatial Network side event, UN GGIM 2019, New York, Mr. Andrea Manara, ITU.

"How geospatial technology will boost 5G and shape smart cities ", ITU News.

BR Handbooks on Space Observation for Scientific Purposes:

• Use of Radio Spectrum for Meteorology: Weather, Water and Climate Monitoring and Prediction
• Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer and Dissemination
• Earth Exploration-Satellite Service
• Radio Astronomy
• Selection and Use of Precise Frequency and Time Systems
• Space Research Communications
  

Last update: February ​2025