According to the Wall Street Journal, McDonald's will be offering free Wi-Fi service to everyone -- starting in January. The fine dining establishment has traditionally charged customers $2.95 for two hours of Internet access at 11,000 of its 14,000 U.S. locations. McDonald's wants to lift the fee in the hopes that patrons will "hang around during down times between meals," soaking up the ambiance created by bright plastic and yelling children overdosed on corn syrup and carbohydrates. McDonald's also apparently wants to leech a few coffee drinkers from Starbucks, which charges $3.99 for two-hours of Internet access. The Wi-Fi at McDonald's is powered by AT&T, who already offer free Wi-Fi to their broadband and wireless customers.
The question remains will Mcdonalds allow us to use their power outlets to charge the battery. I have had the plug pulled at some restaurants.
They never bother me for useing there power outlets but most of the mc donalds near me done have power outlets in the lobby. I have been yelled it for unscrewing there light bulbs in the lamps over the tables and screwing in a outlet into there lights
I also have considered the bulb idea. since there is always more light fixtures than available outlets. This old waitress chic at a IHOP said I could not use her outlets because of the possible liability due to surge damage or something.
It is completely free. Which some locations have already done. I have seen completely free wifi at locations at truck stops and college campuses. i.e. areas that already have easy to access free wifi.
Both of the McDonalds in my area have been free since they were rebuilt/remodeled 4 years ago. I live in the styx too. I never thought there would be anything around me ahead of the rest of the country.
I go there on lunch break a lot and the wifi has been there for years, and I use it all the time. Either after I buy food or if I'm just in the parking lot.
I hope there internet is FASTER than the food SERVICE.
You have no idea of slow.. I live in a podunk town in Arkansas where the McD's is actually staffed by that all white crew you see in some commercials. It's pathetic how slow a group of white, mostly overweight, hillbillies can make a friggin 1$ cheeseburger to go. I always suspect they are eating one as they make one.
(Yea, I know, most of their commercials have 'diversity' now)
i have never seen it get over 300kb... of course that's using at&t's access... i find i get much faster connections on at&ts 3g network at most mcdonalds (1500k on average) which is the opposite of what at&t wants happening
Isn't one of the points of fast food is to have a relatively cheap meal and get it quickly and be in and out? I can't see the point of being your laptop or netbook in a place where most people are in and out in 15 minutes or less. But then again yuppies sit in Starbucks for hours sipping their overpriced fancy coffees playing on their computers. I don't have anything against this idea, but at the same time I really don't see a point to it either.
I've seen a lot of travelling business people and sales people stopping at McDonalds to grab lunch, and quite often if they are either on their laptop or on the phone. I dont regularly travel for work but I have sat at fast food places reading email on my lunchbreak before. A lot of folks don't get a chance to sit down to eat outside of their car, mainly because they don't have a chance to stop working. This allows them to do both, and I think now that it's freely available to all customers a lot more people will start doing it.