Q
Who or what is Farcast?
A
Farcast provides services based on its next generation content repurposing platform. It supports applications that let mobile users manage and share multimedia content whenever and wherever, regardless of format or device. Farcast transcodes, stores, manages and distributes content in all web and mobile formats. Applications include Farcast Reporter, Farcast Moblogger, Farcast NewsFacts and others.

Q
How does Farcast work?
A
Farcast takes care of the compatibility between the originating and target device. This allows our customers to define multimedia content services that will fit best to the specific wishes of their customers, end-users or employees and provides our users with the kind of experience they expect.

Q
What business opportunities do Farcast provide?
A
Organisations in the content and operator industries can use the Farcast platform to launch rich media based applications and services that can be used across a wide range of devices connected to the internet via both fixed and mobile networks. Farcast profides a number of applications and services that can be rebranded (white label) in order to quickly and effectively launch services under own brands.

Q
Are there more Farcast applications in development?
A
There are a great many potential applications that can run on the Farcast platform and we have experimented with several of these. At the moment we have chosen to focus our efforts on the most prominent applications, Farcast Reporter and Farcast Moblogger, but that does not exclude the introduction or expansion of other services in the future.

Q
Is Farcast compatible with IMS and SIP?
A
Yes, it is. The Farcast platform can be seamlessly integrated into IMS or SIP based architectures. Doing so will give rise to a new breed of rich media applications which encourage the creation and sharing of multimedia content.

Q
Which mobile phones does Farcast support?
A
This depends on the application: Applications that demand considerable resources from the phone, such as creation and uploading of video files, will run on Symbian Series 60 phones, high-end Java phones and Windows Mobile phones. Applications that need fewer resources (like display images, text or audio) are supported by a wider range of phones. We always strive to make our services available to as wide a userbase as possible and as such we are constantly working to expand the number of telephones we support. Where possible, we alway provide an alternative (e.g. using MMS uploads when our application is not supported).

Q
How do I get Farcast applications on my phone?
A
This depends on the service. Farcat Moblogger is available as a free download from http://moblogger.farcast.eu. All other applications are currently provisioned exclusively by Farcast and only as part of a contracted service.

Q
Who are Farcast’s main customers?
A
Farcast offers services to both businesses (B2B and private individuals (B2C). B2B customers include prominent parties in the news media as well as a number of corporate users. Our first large scale B2C offering (Farcast Moblogger) is being launched in November 2007.

Q
How much do Farcast services cost?
A
This depends on the service. Farcast Moblogger is free for private use by individuals. Other services vary in price and could depend on factors like expected use, required functionality, number of simultaneous transactions and others. Please contact us on info@farcast.nl with your requirements and we will provide you with a detailed quotation.

Q
What is the relationship between Farcast and TNO?
A
The Farcast platform has been developed by TNO Information and Communication Technology. TNO Information and Communication Technology is part of TNO, the Dutch National Institute for Applied Research. One of TNO Information and Communication Technologies' many roles is to fund innovation and Farcast is one example of this.