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Caribbean Luxury Resorts Go High-Tech with IP
[March 21, 2006]

Caribbean Luxury Resorts Go High-Tech with IP


Associate Editor
 
NXTV, Inc., the provider of digital in-room entertainment, voice, and data services to luxury hotels worldwide, announced that its license partner in the Caribbean, Cable & Wireless, has signed long-term agreements with three St. Lucian Resorts with a total of 466 rooms.  NXTV already provides systems to hotel and resort brands like Four Seasons, JW Marriott, Raffles, Omni, and W Hotels.  Its in-room systems help transform guest stays into dynamic, interactive experiences.


 
Under the latest arrangement, the Coco Palm resort, the newest property on St. Lucia, is a 92-room, 4-star state-of-the-art hotel at Rodney Bay.  It will be the first hotel to install the NXTV system.  The resort is designed with a touch of French tradition, but the digital experience offered to guests will be anything but old-style.  The C&W system will add modern day comforts, including WiFi, cable television, and on-demand video.

 
“We believe that the technology provided by NXTV will enable us to meet the demands of VOD within our region now and into the future,” said Dave Cummings, VP of Corporate IP Solutions, Cable & Wireless Latin America. “Furthermore this will help us align ourselves with the ever growing hospitality sector within the Caribbean region.”

Not only will the agreement enable WiFi and various video products, but NXTV is a leading provider of digital IP-based triple play services, which also includes VoIP service.  This deal sets the resort up for an expansive selection of future offerings to further enhance guest services.
 
The NXTV in-room entertainment solution, designed for IP-over-Ethernet technology, was developed entirely in-house to be a complete and seamlessly integrated system. As a result, NXTV is able to offer high speed Internet access, HD television and VOD, in addition to a menu of other services that are frequently — and easily — expanded. The NXTV System also can be easily integrated with hotel Property Management Systems.

This has the potential to be a particularly advantageous scenario for resorts, not only because NXTV has digital rights agreements with all the major Hollywood studios, but C&W owns all the components of its international infrastructure, including its IP backbone and hosting facilities worldwide.  So, not only is the system inherently expandable, but enhancements can be made without major infrastructure or service additions from a third party — which is also cost effective.
 
Erik Linask is Associate Editor of INTERNET TELEPHONY. Most recently, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication. To see more of his articles, please visit Erik Linask’s columnist page

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