The main message of the paper is that the availability of a technical infrastructure, or more specific the Internet, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for GII establishment. Of particular importance will be the establishment of an open market place, where all types of users will be able to look for geo-information as a commodity. In addition, commitment of decision makers and the willingness of politicians to put the GII high on the political agenda are necessary conditions. And last but not least accurate, detailed and reliable geo-information, in which the users part of the actors has an implicit and unconditional faith, should be freely available, which does not at all mean free of charge. Our society increasingly becomes information intensive.
Information is the key element for economic growth and decision-making.
Despite we are living in the Information Age , the quality of decisions often suffers from lack of appropriate information. It is often stated that about 80 per cent of all public sector information has a geo-spatial component, which means that it is referenced by either address or location, for example a national grid reference. In order to facilitate the variety of needs, it is therefore crucial to stimulate the use of Geo-information in both the public and private sectors as well as by individuals. More or less at the same time, the European Commission commenced initiatives to develop a unified European approach to the use of geographic technologies. To date many of these technological impediments have been readily solved.