Co. at a Glance: GEOCAST
Co. Name: www.geocast.com
Headquarters:
Geocast Network Systems, Inc., 190 Independence Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel: 650.566.8111, Fax: 650.566.8112 info@geocast.com
Ownership: Private
Investors: Mayfield Fund, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and Institutional Venture Partners
Tech. Category: Digital Data & Videocasting
Mission:
Geocast is building a revolutionary broadband network and rich-media delivery which offers the instant availability and high-quality video of TV plus the customization and interactive features of the Web. Geocast will give users instant access to their own personalized selection of locally and nationally sourced information, entertainment, and e-commerce offerings, including downloadable software and music.
Geocast purports to be the only broadband network that will offer every piece of the broadcasting pie: data transmission, personal server, and precisely targeted content. Its one-to-many network architecture is far more efficient than the Internet at delivering content to a mass audience. The Internet's one-to-one architecture often results in low-quality streaming media because of congestion, low frame rates, and other limitations. Yet a single Geocast transmission can serve millions of users with the same high-quality signal, all at the same time.
Products/Services:
At the heart of Geocast's richness and flexibility is our one-of-a-kind personal server. This small server connects to a user's PC and receives, processes, and stores on its internal hard drive personalized content for on-demand retrieval using a browser, but without going online — a breakthrough user experience offered only by Geocast. What's more, only the Geocast personal server is capable of receiving different signal types: digital television broadcast, satellite, or cable. Users will continue to use their current Internet provider for Web access and for email.
Partners:
Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., Belo Corporation, Allbritton Communications, Liberty Media Corporation, Electronic Arts, Thomson Multimedia, & Royal Philips Electronics.
Press Links:
http://www.geocast.com/news/index.html
Oct. 16, 2000 EchoStar Communications Corp and Geocast Align to Deliver New Personalized Interactive Broadband Services to PC Users Via Satellite
May 1, 2000 Geocast Network Systems Announces Successful Field Trial in Silicon Valley
Dec. 7, 1999 Geocast Closes Milestone Agreements With Thomson Multimedia, Liberty Media, Electronic Arts
Dec. 7, 1999 Geocast Selects Thomson Multimedia To Develop, Manufacture, Market 'Beyond-the-Internet' TV Receivers
Dec. 7, 1999 Geocast Network Systems Closes Pact With Liberty Media
Geocast Network Diagram: