Spatial Data Infrastructure in the Perspective of Modern Geo-communication: Models, Mutual Dependencies and Definitions

The purpose of geo-communication is to bridge the gap between reality and data sources on one side and a reasonably basis for decision-making on the other side. This is achieved through sev-eral types of activities, where web-services and spatial data infrastructure (SDI) as well as knowl-edge of communication-theories play important roles. The introduction of web-services as index-portals based on geo-information has changed the conditions for both content and form of geo-communication. A high number of players and interactions as well as a very high number of all kinds of information and combinations of these characterize geo-communication carried out through web-services. This paper discusses the nature of geo-communication put into relation to the different com-ponents of SDI, as well as the impacts thereof. Awareness of the complexity is necessary, and structure is needed to make it possible to handle the increasing complexity. Modern web-based geo-communication and its infrastructure looks very complex, and it will get even more complex! Therefore there is a strong need for theories and models that can de-scribe this complex web in the SDI in the perspective of modern geo-communication.