Douglas companies introduce VoIP for hospitality industry

Two Douglas County technology companies have joined forces to roll out VoIP Voice Over Internet Protocol systems for the hospitality industry.

The deal links InformaCorp LLC, a Mindenbased company that delivers high-speed Internet and related services to hotel operators, and WPTI LLC, a Genoa-based wholesaler of broadband and telecommunications services.

Both companies are privately held.

VoIP systems route long-distance calls over the Internet rather than through traditional long-distance networks.

Chris Sennings, one of the founders of InformaCorp, said the companies expect to develop a VoIP product that will utilize existing systems installed by InformaCorp.

The company has installed its Internet systems in hotels that include about 12,000 rooms in 24 states, and it's growing by 1,000 to 1,500 rooms a month.

"We've got a lot of the hardware in place,"he said.

The VoIP system, Sennings said, either can be provided by hotels as a free amenity an important marketing tool as VoIP becomes more widely used or as a way to generate revenues if hotels charge a fee for its use.

The system developed by InformaCorp and WPTI currently is being marketed to lodging properties in northern Nevada and northern California.

The companies expect a nationwide rollout within three to six months.

InformaCorp, which was founded in 2001 by Sennings and Gerald Novotny, provides highspeed Internet,Wi-Fi, digital video-on-demand and other services to the hospitality industry.

WPTI, founded by Tony Prestigiacomo, Bruce Komito and Erich Stick in 1997, operates a Reno center that works with Internet Service Providers and Internet content providers in the western United States.