The release stuff jives with what I've heard. Industry colleagues in Perth reporting that pre-preview access (just covering Perth) are already being offered. January makes sense for a full launch, but like you I'm not holding my breath, given the history of delays.
To be fair (in Melbourne's case at least), nearmap have only done quarterly captures for the last couple of years. That might be the commercial sweet spot for plane surveys, in which case good on Spookfish for letting nearmap figure that out for them.
In terms of resolution, I agree they seem basically the same. I'm interested in whether elevation or 3D data will be made available to the end user. If they're just going with a web viewer and WMTS, maybe not. That would be disappointing, because that data would be a real commercial point of difference.
Last I had heard, which was ages ago, they were just going to have national plans on a seat-based licence. The all-you-can-eat price was rumoured to be $1000/yr, well below nearmap. I guess I can see the commercial justification for splitting state/national access, but I hope they keep things fairly simple. If they can address the number one gripe I've heard with nearmap - tiny download limits per-seat - they could be on to something. Although that's pure profit for NEA, and they could adjust those prices/GB downward very easily to meet whatever SFI offers.
I have no idea what the impact of the Eagleview deal on the SP is going to be. I can't even confidently make a ballpark guess. We'll just have to wait and see.
Still hopeful on this one, although to be honest I'm more excited at the moment about the outcomes as a customer than as an investor, due to the financial unknowns. At least as a customer, I know that competition in the sector will result in a better deal for me.
SFI Price at posting:
6.8¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
