Geocast pulls its own plug

Datacaster Geocast Network Systems ceased operations on Thursday and is in talks to sell its assets.

The Menlo Park, Calif. company's announced shutdown follows a round of layoffs last month. The company most recently said it was leaning toward a DBS launch via EchoStar in second-quarter 2001. Geocast had $85 million, enough to last to mid-2001. But Joseph Horowitz, chairman and CEO of Geocast Network Systems, said the company lacked the funding it needed to reach its final "vision" for its business of building a datacasting platform. "The current market environment was simply not conducive to our efforts in this regard," Horowitz said in a prepared statement.
- Richard Tedesco