Tata Communication and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc have announced a partnership agreement, as part of an ambitious plan to roll out public Telepresence room worldwide.

The first telepresence suites are planned for Sheraton New York Hotels & Towers, Sheraton on the Park in the Sydney, Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, The Westin Los Angeles Airport and W Chicago-City Center.

The agreement will significantly increase Tata Communications’ network of public Cisco TelePresence rooms with 10 new facilities opening in the Starwood Hotels by the end of 2009.  

Tata Communications Telepresence Service will provide Starwood and its guests an “in person” meeting experience with Participants in rooms around the world.

It should be noted that Cisco TelePresence provides life-like, high definition, conferencing facilites with superior audio, video and environmental qualities allowing participants to meet their colleagues, customers and business partners across a virtual table.

Tata Communication has several operational public rooms in India (Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Gurgaon), UK (London) and USA (Boston), and has recently announced an agreement to manage a public room in Manila for PLDT.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 960 properties in 97 countries and 1,45,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.