December 17, 2009

Beginning in mid-January, McDonald's restaurants will become one of the nation's largest providers of free Wi-Fi Internet access, thanks to a new deal with AT&T.

Free Internet access will be available at 11,000 of the company's 13,000 U.S. locations, making McDonald's an even friendlier spot for Road Warriors in need of connectivity.

"Free" means what it says and no purchase is required, McDonald's told the Dallas Morning News . Presently, AT&T charges $2.95 for two-hours of Internet access, although the company's wired and wireless customers get free Wi-Fi at McDonald's, Starbucks, and other locations.

I've been using McDonald's hotspots for several years now, free as an AT&T customer. It is very convenient to have Internet access at such easy to find locations. Fellow business users will be interested to know the wireless coverage generally extends out into the parking lot, making it even easier to use.

The Morning News quotes AT&T saying its public Wi-Fi access points have already been used more than 51 million times during 2009, more than double the number of connections during all of 2008.

Terms of the deal between AT&T and McDonald's were not disclosed.

Source:-http://www.pcworld.com