| McDonald's to offer free Wi-Fi service at most of its U.S. restaurants from Jan. 15 |
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12/01/2010 15:01 (770 Day 23:02 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- The largest U.S. fast-food chain Macdonald’s announced on Monday that it plans to offer free Wi-Fi service at most of its U.S. restaurants, starting on Jan. 15.
In December McDonald's Corp. announced that more than 11,000 of its U.S. restaurants will have free Wi-Fi in January. The company currently offers Wi-Fi for a rate of $2.95 for two hours.
McDonald's is joining chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders which have café's that used to charge for Wi-Fi and now don't. McDonald's will quickly become the largest provider of free Wi-Fi in the world. Starbucks does it as well, but only for a couple hours at a time, according to PC Mag com. The McDonald's network is run by AT&T ; the chain has had Wi-Fi for about five years, first from Wayport (which AT&T bought), and it's used not just for customer Internet access but also to run the in-store credit card terminals.
Computer World reports that the free Wi-Fi will come with no time limits, all the better to encourage visitors to stay longer and buy McDonald's coffee drinks and hamburgers. Starbucks Corp., which has 11,000 locations in the U.S., charges $3.99 for two hours of Internet access, but does have a rewards program for frequent customers who can get two hours for free. McDonald's free Wi-Fi will surely place pressure on Starbucks to lower its costs, several analysts said.
Analysts also predict free or nearly-free Wi-Fi will grow in other venues, such as in-flight. That service today can cost $5 to $15 for a wireless connection on a flight, according to the same source. Google Inc. teamed up with Virgin America in October to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi during the holidays, a sponsorship deal that could catch on with other major corporations hoping to sow goodwill and brand recognition, experts said.
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