Oracle affiliate Network Computer Inc and General Instrument Corp, formerly NextLevel Systems Inc, have agreed to enable and market NCI’s DTV Navigator software on GI’s DVi-2000 set-top box. Both companies had existing agreements with Cable & Wireless Plc. This third deal means CWC will use NCI software on GI hardware to deliver interactive television to some of the 6 million UK homes passed by its cable network. The deal means cash for NCI, and a successful pilot will make it easier to sell interactive TV to the lucrative American market. What’s more as corporate communications manager Randy Brasche points out, adding GI to existing clients, Scientific Atlanta and Pioneer, means NCI’s hardware partners now account for some 80% of the set top box market. The GI agreement is well-timed to raise morale in a company still smarting over the failure of key customer NetChannel Inc (CI No 3,400).
