The free WiFi trend continues
You don’t even have to buy food to use the WiFi. Brilliant.
The word McDonalds brings to mind a bunch of cheap greasy hamburgers and the colourful PlayPlace for many. However it seems the un-frickin’-believably huge burger joint wants to be known for more than just calories… they are getting ready to set up free WiFi in-store. Seems like a good idea, doesn’t it?
“We’re not just about hamburgers,” said Dave Grooms, chief information officer for McDonald’s USA. While many McDonalds stores already have WiFi access (wait, what?), it’s not free. You’d have to pay $2.95~ for two hours of internet access. This coming January though, McDonalds will stop charging money for access, and offer the service for free. Even better is the fact that there is no time limit to speak of. Starbucks (at least in Canada), for example, sits right in the middle – they offer two hours of WiFi for free, and if you go over the limit you’ll have to fork over some cash to keep the data streaming.
I can see some cons to this, however. Mainly, the already busy restaurants will, if successful, become even busier, filled mainly with students cramming their laptops into every last square inch of table space. Grooms said “we don’t mind at all if people step in take advantage of the Wi-Fi and linger a bit” which will also contribute to a bigger crowd. It’d be an interesting sight though, I’m sure.
Not all McDonalds stores will be offering free WiFi this January, however. It seems that only the stores already set up for WiFi will. That’s about 11,000 out of 14,000 stores in the USA but probably less in Canada where a lower percentage of stores offer WiFi.
That said, hopefully the trend of free WiFi will continue and see more and more restaurants and shops offering free internet access.
Filed Under: Wireless
Tags: wifi
I’ve been using the McD coffee for months now. Great stuff and …. now I use their free WiFi in several locations. I’m not a student but it is great for business as well. Love the changes McD are making. Try the Angus burger? Another trend changer. If I had money I’d buy shares.
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I heard about your Mc D is doing new things like putting in Wind Me games for there customers and that is a really good thing but in Canada. We will not see that here cause in the biggers citys it is not safe for that to go on with all the shorting around here so how said that it will not happen in Canada and if it did it would be they would have to have alot of gards on in the Mc D and that is family restaunt so that is my optinal on that but if does work out that would be great for the kids to do something beside going to eat there good luck .
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I don’t plan on going back to MacDonald’s again!
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