McDonalds largest FREE WiFi Provider...

[Mike]

McDonald's Becoming Biggest Wireless Broadband Access Provider In The UK

By Neville Hobson

When McDonald's restaurants completes the roll out of its free wifi service across all its 1,200 UK restaurants later this year, it will become the country's biggest provider of free wireless broadband internet access.

While there's no reference to this news on any McDonald's website - no press release, nothing - lots of media reporting provides the details.

I watched McDonald's UK CEO Steve Easterbrook speak on Jeff Randall's business show on Sky News on Monday night.

He said you'll be able to go into any McDonald's and use the wifi with no obligation to even buy anything in the restaurant (although he hopes you will).

I think it's a pretty compelling deal to drive consumers into McDonald's. While you're there, you're likely to buy something.

Not only laptop-using consumers will think this is a great deal - think of the growing range of wifi-enabled mobile devices that include GSM/wifi mobile phones, Skype phones and the new iPod Touch.

If you can connect to the net without a browser-based log in process, you'll be able to use many of these devices.

Just nip into a McDonald's and munch a Big Mac while you make some free phone calls or get some more songs from the iTunes Wifi Music Store.

It will even attract people away from Starbucks, the ubiquitous wifi access point of choice for road warriors wanting surf with their latte.

The big difference - with Starbucks, you have to pay to use their pricey T-Mobile network while internet access will be free at McDonald's.

A bit of a no-brainer choice really. (How will Starbucks respond, I wonder? More of this, perhaps?)

I rarely visit a McDonald's when I'm out and about. If I want to go online, it's wherever I can and always having to pay high prices.

That behaviour's about to change.

Source: http://www.webpronews.co.uk/webpron...stWirelessBroadbandAccessProviderintheUK.html

***
Frankly, i'm looking forward to this type of change in the USA. Starbucks lost me as a VERY loyal consumer after their location in St. Cloud, MN thought that a $6 coffee is not enough, but they need to top it off with a $7 charge for using their Wi-Fi.

IB

 

[cdboard]

some U.S.A. McDonalds restaurants have wifi. but the last time I looked into using it (last year at an Indiana McD), it was a paid service.


http://www.mcdonalds.com/wireless.html

 

[buckshotdots]

Yeah, when the .mobi auction was on I was out of town and had to pay 13 bucks or so for a days wifi ($7 for an hour if I wanted). That would be such a smart investment for Mc D's IMO.
g-

 

[Peter]

I know there was talk a while back about councils offering blanket wifi access across towns here in the UK (in fact some councils have already started implementing it)

Didn't Google start doing this in certain parts of the US?

 

[labrocca]

I would love for Starbucks to start offering free wifi. As attractive as free wifi at McDonalds is...I don't visit or eat at their establishments.

 

[loko123]

i would love getting free wifi from starbucks too, but not from McDonalds, reason is i don't like McUnhealthy burgers or lousy dinners.

 

[Bill]

A lot of places around here started offering free wifi. Another large chain that is offering free wifi is Moe's.

http://www.moes.com/

-Bill

 

[liquidcherry]

Since 2 months or so Mc Doofy has partnered with At&T, if u are a customer of At&T's DSL Extreme 6.0 package u can use your login and surf at their locations(at least here in Georgia) for free....

But i believe this will be obsolet soon because more and more Cities are beeing covered with free WIFI....I would even pay a small fee to sit everywhere in Town and have a signal(besides that, i am doing that already because a lot of people are just not secured or a lot of restaurants have unsecured networks)

So guys, just wait a little bit longer and u will have it free.....
everywhere.....

Cheers,

Frank

 

[Castlemelody]

In our place we have McDonalds with free WIFI too. When we go out and meet, we take advantage of this feature.

 

[Cicero]

I hope free wifi gets rolled out here too at banglore and mumbai. I spend about 8 hours in a McDonald in a month and it would be great to use my IPAQ online at the same time :D

 

[hanz]

And in Tartu (Estonia) we cannot even pay with credit cards, I really hate it because I never carry my "millions" in my pocket. Actually they might even have Wifi, I've just never tried...

But why stress FREE? Does the thing called "paid Wifi" still exist? Last time I saw that crazy animal was about a year ago when I visited Prague, it was quite weird because in Estonia even gas stations offer free Wifi, but in Prague some crazy Czech (actually if I am not mistaking then the hotel was owned by German, so some crazy German) decided that it would be wise to offer paid wifi in 4-star hotel, but I am sure UK is a bit more advanced in that sector.

 

[RickM]

I've yet to come across a free wi-fi network in the uk. Most of them are owned by the big networks such as BT (The Cloud) and T-Mobile.

On the cloud its £4.50 ($9) /hr, £6.99 ($14) /3hrs or £9.99 for 24hrs.

Pretty poor quality in the UK too.

 

[chicker]

Well I have 250 free minutes a month on bt or the cloud wireless which comes in handy but this would definatly be a bonus, specailly seeing that mcdonalds are everywhere.

T mobile probabbly has the best coverage and covers wide areas aswell but it is more expensive.

 

[derrida]

I would love for Starbucks to start offering free wifi. As attractive as free wifi at McDonalds is...I don't visit or eat at their establishments.

Thats funny, Starbucks do offer free wifi in australia! and bandwith is more expensive here..

oh, btw, if anyone is up for a legal battle McWifi.net is avail!

hehe

 

[hanz]

I've yet to come across a free wi-fi network in the uk. Most of them are owned by the big networks such as BT (The Cloud) and T-Mobile.

On the cloud its £4.50 ($9) /hr, £6.99 ($14) /3hrs or £9.99 for 24hrs.

Pretty poor quality in the UK too.

what about schools, universities, libraries, hospitals?

 

[RickM]

Schools, Uni's and Libraries yes...however only if you have an account (I.E student login). Not sure about hospitals...I know our local (shoddy) one doesn't have it.