Fortunately, Geo-Strategies was able to obtain access to historical maps of Romania published in Berlin and Vienna. It is remarkable that these vintage compilations are often more accurate than those published during the past 50 years. This applies equally to town plans and geological maps and, of course, to the geodetic network. Even today, details of the full Romanian national grid remain shrouded in secrecy and hold back development, both within the GI community and among investors who are used to the ready availability of such information. As one might imagine, this constitutes a severe problem for AVL applications using dynamic GPS with the LEO satellite system.
Aerial photography is, needless to say, treated with the same sensitivity as cartography.
What all this says is that there are huge opportunities for the mapping and GIS community in Romania - once public sector organisations come to terms with a market economy and the need for accurate geographic information. Founded in 1993, Geo-Strategies SA has grown steadily and now has offices in Sibiu and in Cambridge, England. These serve customers in 14 countries worldwide, with a healthy ratio of sales between Romania and the rest of the world. Perhaps its most important asset is to be found in the substantial vault of data it has built up over the years. Indeed, this year will see comprehensive data coverage available for areas stretching from Prague to Istanbul, and from Kiev to Tirana.