Bold Move Marks Turning Point in Industry; Complies with Civil Government’s Need to be Responsive to Constituents
Longmont, Colo., September 9, 2004 – DigitalGlobe®, provider of the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery and geospatial information products, announced that U.S. civil government customers at the state and local level now have the freedom to use, distribute and modify QuickBird satellite imagery products without penalty. This new civil government licensing model, effective September 17, 2004, represents a pivotal change in the commercial remote sensing industry’s traditional treatment of product licensing.
DigitalGlobe’s civil government licensing model applies to QuickBird imagery products, imagery services and derivative work and mapping products developed by civil government end users. Data can now be used and shared among all state and local government users, in addition to the general public. Civil government licensing will be particularly valuable for projects and programs that cross state, county and city boundaries, which is often the situation faced by local or regional consortiums.
According to David Nale, senior vice president of commercial markets for DigitalGlobe, the company’s new licensing removes a critical barrier that prevented government organizations from sharing data with essential stakeholders. “Decade-old restrictions have been problematic for the entire commercial satellite industry and widely viewed as inhibiting the use of satellite imagery in the civil government market. Our new licensing offers the freedom, flexibility and simplicity desired by our customers, and we trust that this will be enthusiastically embraced by the government.”
About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is the clear leader in the global commercial Earth imagery and geospatial information market. The company’s technical superiority and innovation, unparalleled commitment to customer service, extensive business partner network and open systems philosophy make DigitalGlobe the preferred supplier of satellite and aerial imagery and value-added products. In 2001, DigitalGlobe launched what remains the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite today, QuickBird. The company will launch its next-generation WorldView system no later than 2006, while the competition has no plans to launch a satellite comparable to either QuickBird or WorldView before 2008. QuickBird has collected and stored in its ImageLibrary hundreds of thousands of Earth image scenes covering over a hundred million square kilometers, and collects an additional one million square kilometers each week. These new and historical images are essential for customers who map and plan for change in our world. DigitalGlobe is based in Longmont, Colo., USA. For more information visit www.digitalglobe.com.
