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20001219: WSI data feed (reply)

>From: Richard Chinman <address@hidden>
>Organization:  UCAR
>Keywords:  200012192212.eBJMCto12853 WSI NIDS contract

Richard,

Linda Miller forwarded this to several of us in Unidata a few days ago,
and I have been meaning to briefly touch base with you about the 
contract conditions that Maria Pirone apparently proposed.

The item of major concern is:

"This would include web redistribution rights for the six products
offered over the NWS NOAAport feed"

I feel strongly that:

1). Redistribution should not be limited to the web

2). The contract should not specify how many products may be freely
redistributed.  I think that the intent might be to limit
redistribution of products not being sent in the NWSTG, but setting the
number to be six does not allow for the additional products scheduled
to be included in the NWSTG as listed on:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/oso/noaaport.html

3). As you note below, the current contract that Unidata has with WSI
allows for free redistribution of all products after they become 48
hours old.  The new contract should not be more restrictive than the
current one.

Sorry I didn't get these comments to you sooner...

Tom Yoksas
Unidata Program Center/UCAR

>---------- Forwarded Message ----------
>Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 3:09 PM -0700
>From: Richard Chinman <address@hidden>
>To: Greg Thompson <address@hidden>, address@hidden, address@hidden,
>address@hidden, Peter Neilley <address@hidden>, Linda Miller 
><address@hidden>, dave carlson <address@hidden>, Dave Fulker 
><address@hidden>, david ahijevych <address@hidden>, Richard Carbone
><address@hidden>, bob gall <address@hidden>, address@hidden
>Subject: WSI data feed
>
>To all:
>
>The WSI representative, Maria Pirone, just called me asking us for a
>(more) "serious" commitment from UCAR to WSI to NOT turn off the data
>feed on 31 Dec 00.  WSI needs to know that we (UCAR) will sign off on a
>**year-long** contract with WSI for whatever data feed we want and that
>we get that signed contract back to WSI *before* 31 Dec 00 to insure
>uninterrupted data flow.  The initial word from WSI had indicated less
>of a formal commitment than is now being described.
>
>I want to emphasize that the period of performance for this contract
>cannot be for a time period less than a year!!  We cannot pro rate the
>costs per user to anything less than a year, either.
>
>There is a hardcopy contract on its' way to me for signing, so I cannot
>quote to you the exact wording of that contract, but I want to make sure
>that all of us understand now what can be in the data feed from WSI and
>what contractual conditions will exist for us to receive the data feed.
>________________________________________________________
>Start of quoted material, dated 7 Dec 00, from Maria Pirone...
>
>Per our conversation last evening, WSI is prepared to offer UCAR
>uninterrupted access to both the WSR-88d data and the NOWrad mosaics
>beyond
>January 1st 2001. Our quote for the WSR-88d data from all 154 sites
>including all sites in Alaska, Hawaii and Guam would be at the
>University
>rate of $575 per month.  This would include web redistribution rights
>for
>the six products offered over the NWS NOAAport feed, the remaining 16 or
>so
>products would be restricted from redistribution beyond UCAR.  The
>reason
>for this is the value of the information to the resellers in the
>industry
>and the fact that the most commonly understood products  would be widely
>available to the public and others.  (I will forward you a complete list
>of
>the six products in a future e-mail.)
>
>         The NOWrad mosaic package (EXPRESS NOWrad PLUS) would include
>both
>the 2-level Quality Controlled 2km Regional Master and 8km National
>mosaics
>updated every 5 minutes and the 3-level Quality Controlled 2km Regional
>Master and 8km National mosaics updated every 15 minutes.  This standard
>package which includes additional mosaics not included in the current
>university package which UCAR receives today costs $550 per month. This
>value-added package is strictly prohibited from redistribution beyond
>UCAR.
>
>         The total price for the packages is $1125.00 per month and would
>require no changes to WSI hardware or software at UCAR.  This data would
>be
>delivered via WSI's High Capacity Satellite Network just as UCAR
>receives it
>today.
>
>End of quoted material from Maria Pirone...
>_______________________________________________________
>
>Please take careful note of the REDISTRIBUTION RIGHTS.  The current
>contract between Unidata and WSI, that expires in 12 days, has much more
>lenient re-distribution rights than the upcoming contract will have.  As
>I read these words, there are no time-lag conditions in these new
>re-distribution policies.  If that causes any of you any problems, speak
>now or forever hold your peace.
>
>Because time is short to meet the 31 Dec 00 contract deadline I will,
>via IITA, begin the process of contracting with WSI for both the mosaics
>and the single site data feeds to flow to UCAR for the next 12 months
>beginning 1 Jan 01.  IITA may need to "advance" money to pay WSI for the
>data and I expect that all of the actual data users will pay IITA back
>ASAP, if not immediately.
>
>Here's a summary of the UCAR "radar" data needs (that I know about at
>this point) and how much each "user" will pay for those data:
>
>WSI mosaics are needed by RAP, MMM, and COMET.  The mosaics cost $550
>monthly.  For 12 months worth of mosaics, the three users will each pay
>$2,200.
>
>WSI single site radar data are needed by RAP (alone).  If we want *any*
>of these data from WSI, then a year-long contract is required.  The
>single site data (from all 154 radar sites) cost $575 monthly.  For 12
>months of single site data, RAP will pay $6,900.
>
>Does any of this information change your data "needs"?
>
>Is the cost of the data to your group worth the value of the data to
>your group?
>
>Is there any possibility that another group will need the single site
>data?
>
>Might the single site data in the NOAAPort feed satisfy RAP's need for
>these data?  COMET has, for example, decided that they "don't need the
>single site data because we can pull it off of our NOAAPort."
>
>The NOAAPort feed, including radar data, is scheduled to start 1 Jan 01
>and will be available to all of UCAR.  However, the Weather Service has
>indicated some problems with meeting that deadline.
>
>Richard
>
>-- 
>Richard Chinman
>UCAR-IITA
>P.O. Box 3000
>Boulder, CO 80307-3000
>USA
>
>303.497.8696 (voice)
>303.497.8638 (fax)
>address@hidden
>
>---------- End Forwarded Message ----------
>
>
>
>Linda Miller - address@hidden
>External Liaison, Unidata
>University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
>P.O. Box 3000
>Boulder, CO 80307-3000
>303 497-8646 fax: 303-497-8690
>URL:  http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/lmiller/un.act.html
>
--
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Tom Yoksas                                             UCAR Unidata Program *
* (303) 497-8642 (last resort)                                  P.O. Box 3000 *
* address@hidden                                   Boulder, CO 80307 *
* Unidata WWW Service                             http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/*
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