As digital cable and interactiveTV become more prevalent, they are requiring cable companies to develop more advanced technology, and Gates and company are competing mightily for that business.
The U.S. market may one day open up for Narayan if the cable industry settles on a standard for interactiveTV, which regulators have said must happen by 2005.
Bill Gates has a long history of making investments in cable companies with the hopes that it will secure Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people) software a significant role in the technology used for high-speed Internet access and for cable set-top boxes that deliver interactiveTV.