Bern/Bonn, September 07, 2011 – The geoportal of the Swiss Confederation is popular: Up to 10.000 users per day access the map viewer at map.geo.admin.ch. This is where citizens can view, print and order geodata. Since the beginning of September 2011 this high quality data can also be used on mobile devices (smartphones). The web based solution „mobile.map.geo.admin“ runs on Android-devices as well as iPhones and iPads. Uncomplicated, simple access The Swiss Confederation worked together with cantons, cities, universities and private organisations to decide on the fundamentals of mobile.map.geo.admin.ch, the geodata offering for mobile devices. The company terrestris GmbH & Co. KG from Bonn, Germany was contracted to implement the web map client based on OpenLayers and SenchaTouch, that is made available as open source software. Users of mobile.map.geo.admin.ch do not need to download additional software nor do they require a login or password. Through supplying this client the Swiss Confederation fulfills the task to make geodata available to the public in general as mandated by the Swiss Geodata Accessibility Law. http://mobile.map.geo.admin.ch is available with immediate effect: Entering the URL in a mobile device  will automatically take you to the mobile version of the map viewer. Practical information on the spot Geodata of the Swiss Confederation usually have official character and are of high quality documented by the seal of approval „confederation“. Historical maps are also available so that users can find out on the spot whether they are utilising an historical route or whether an historical building is within sight. One can also search for communities, towns, bodies of water or mountains („Which mountain is this?“). Furthermore you can get information about danger zones („Am I within a danger zone?“), conservation areas („Is this a spawning area for amphibiens?“) as well as town- and settlement development („What did it look like here 100 years ago?“). Additional functionality comprises:

• Address search (current addresses as well as buildings under construction)
• Search for locality- and field-names
• Feedback functionality, trough which data corrections can be reported (i.e. hiking trails that differ from the route portrayed or erroneous addresses including the correct one.)

Ad-free and longterm available The geoportal of the Swiss Confederation including the mobile map viewer is being operated by the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo under the strategic direction and management of the coordinating agency for Federal geographical information, GCG. Third parties are not granted access to user data and the longterm availability is also assured for the future. The offering is free of advertisement and only accessible online: Data cannot be saved locally because in this case costs would be applicable due to licence restrictions. The usage of mobile.map.geo.admin is free of charge (except for the cost of internet access). At the same time there is a free application programming interface (API), i.e. For developers or companies that wish to use the data for own applications. —- About swisstopo The Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo) is the centre of competence for the Swiss Confederation responsible for geographical reference data, for instance the description, representation and archiving of geographic spatial data (such as national maps, elevation and landscape models, satellite images, orthophotos). swisstopo provides measurements of Switzerland, ascertains and documents changes in the landscape (geological, geodesic and topographical) and produces maps of Switzerland. Topographic maps (paper and digital) are updated and published regularly at various scales. Thanks to their quality and accuracy they are highly regarded in Switzerland and worldwide. In co-operation with federal government, cantons, local communities and the private sector swisstopo makes geodata available for widespread use. The Geographic information act (GeoIG) is also a statutory foundation. As a responsible official body swisstopo looks after all the interests of official surveying and public-private ownership restrictions (Federal Directorate of Cadastral Surveying). swisstopo was founded in 1838 and today forms part of the armasuisse group in the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS). The modern production organisation has 320 employees and is located in Wabern near Bern. About terrestris terrestris is a geoinformatics business from Bonn, Germany and originally a spin-off from the University of Bonn. Since 2002, terrestris has been active in the conceptualisation, implementation and maintenance of spatial data infrastructures using open source software like PostGIS, OpenLayers and GeoServer. One focus is on geodata acquisition in real-time using wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring and displaying resulting data in a WebGIS environment. Customers of terrestris include the German states Lower-Saxony, Brandenburg and Baden-Württemberg, TUV Rhineland Group, University of Copenhagen, the Forschungszentrum Jülich research institution, and diverse municipalities, amongst others. terrestris has successfully completed projects in the Middle East (Qatar), Africa (Benin), Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Denmark) and is currently active in a hydrological research project in Asia (Mongolia). —- Media contact Dipl.-Geogr. Hinrich Paulsen terrestris GmbH & Co. KG Irmintrudisstr. 17 53111 Bonn, Germany +49 228 – 962 899 51 info@terrestris.de www.terrestris.de