Canada Kicks Ass

Universal address system gets Microsoft backing
Date: Tuesday, June 03 2003
Topic: Science & Technology


With backing from Microsoft Corp., a Toronto company's dream of a universal addressing system is taking a step closer to reality.

NAC Geographic Products Inc. is on the verge of launching a commercial version of its Mobile Location-Based Services Network with help from Microsoft's MapPoint Web location service. The Universal Address System and the Natural Area Coding System have been developed by NAC Geographic president Xinhang Shen as part of his dream to rationalize and standardize the world's many and conflicting systems of addresses and area codes.


Based on latitude and longitude, the NAC system can represent an area the size of a province using two alphanumeric characters. A "universal address" with six characters will narrow down a search to an area measuring one square kilometre. With 10 characters, it can represent a specific area measuring one square metre.

The proposed 10-digit universal address could be used for both homes and businesses. Slightly longer than Canada's six-digit alphanumeric postal code, it would narrow down addresses more accurately. For example, NAC Geographic Products' address in Toronto would be 8CNB5 Q8Z4R.

Source: theglobeandmail.com



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