specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: AISHub
providerId: aishub
created: '2026-07-11'
modified: '2026-07-11'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Vessel Tracking
- Maritime
- AIS
- Data Sharing
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of AISHub. There is no vendor invoice - AISHub is a cooperative
  data-sharing network with a contribute-to-access model, so the cost of using
  the API is entirely in-kind and infrastructure-side. Members bear the cost of
  operating one or more AIS receiving stations (receiver hardware, antenna,
  hosting, power, bandwidth) and of streaming a raw NMEA feed to AISHub over
  UDP, plus whatever compute they use to poll and process the aggregated web
  service data. In exchange, access to the aggregated vessel-position and
  station data is free.
notes: >-
  There are no monetary meters to reconcile - AISHub publishes no pricing.
  The FOCUS columns below model the in-kind arrangement; the dominant
  real-world cost drivers are member-owned receiver infrastructure and the
  operational effort of keeping the feed above the quality thresholds
  (10+ vessels, 90%+ uptime rolling 7 days, <=10s delay) that continued API
  access depends on.
sources:
- https://www.aishub.net/
- https://www.aishub.net/join-us
- https://www.aishub.net/api
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: AISHub
serviceCategory: Analytics and Data Streaming
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Free (In-Kind Data Contribution)
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: AISHub Web Service
  ServiceCategory: Analytics and Data Streaming
  ProviderName: AISHub
  PublisherName: AISHub
  InvoiceIssuerName: None (no invoicing; contribute-to-access)
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Free
meters:
- name: receiver_infrastructure
  description: Member-owned AIS receiving station costs - receiver, antenna, host device, power, connectivity. The real cost of AISHub access; no AISHub invoice.
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - station
- name: contributed_feed_bandwidth
  description: Outbound bandwidth streaming the raw NMEA feed to AISHub over UDP.
  unit: bytes
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - station
- name: web_service_requests
  description: Polls of ws.php and stations.php (free; bounded by the documented once-per-minute limit).
  unit: requests
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - endpoint
- name: downstream_processing
  description: Your own compute/storage for ingesting and processing the aggregated AIS data pulled from the web service or raw feed.
  unit: hours
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - workload
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track receiver uptime and coverage against the AISHub quality thresholds - losing them means losing free API access, which is the real financial risk.
- name: Allocation
  description: Attribute receiver-station and processing costs to the internal workloads consuming the vessel data.
- name: Optimization
  description: Filter web service pulls with bounding box, MMSI/IMO, and interval parameters and use compression, so downstream processing and storage only handle needed vessels.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign an owner for each receiving station responsible for keeping the contributed feed within quality thresholds.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com