The deal would transform the relatively primitive Soviet telephone network into one utilizing high technology fiber-optic cable and switching equipment.
Switching NESN to basic cable pushed its reach to 3.8 million homes across New England, more than double the number of subscribers who paid to watch Red Sox games when NESN was available only as a premium channel.
Shah says most of the major cable and broadcast operators will be switching their underlying technology to Internet Protocol in the next three to five years.
The same is true for customers of oil service companies, though less so, as the cost of switching among oil service companies is smaller than that of cable services, and there are more choices.
The company is currently involved in a legal battle with cable TV provider Virgin Media, which claims Sky is trying to "coerce" Virgin customers into switching services by denying them access to its basic channels.