TAG | McDonalds: would you like free Wi-Fi with that? |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Thursday, 23 October 2008 | |
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To think that the New South Wales state government in Australia was once going to give free Wi-Fi in the major CBDs of its various cities, something I knew would never happen, and in the end was cancelled – primarily because this is something that businesses should do, not governments. And while I never expected McDonalds to give Wi-Fi free, because it was being supplied by Telstra which doesn’t do “free”, clearly Maccas and Telstra have come to some kind of deal whereby even if money is changing hands behind the scenes, McDonalds customers won’t have to pay. Previously (and still currently, until March next year) Wi-Fi customers at McDonalds needed to pay something like $5 for a few minutes, I remember once paying around $15 for 45 minutes. But no longer, according to the Courier Mail newspaper, which will make McDonalds Wi-Fi network the largest free Wi-Fi network in Australia, powered by Telstra’s “Next IP” network. In total there will be 720 McDonalds restaurants offering free Wi-Fi along with your fries, burgers, milkshakes, coffees and a smattering of “healthier” options that McDonalds has been offering in recent years, trying to shake off the non-nutritious, fattening image that all fast food outlets “enjoy”. The McDonalds Austalia CIO Henry Shiner is quoted in the Courier Mail saying: "Many of our customers are looking to access the internet on the move”, telling the newspaper that customers who logged in for an hour a week could save “up to $728” per year. The service isn’t just for notebook computers but will work with any Wi-Fi enabled device, be it your iPhone, a Nintendo DS, a Windows Mobile smartphone, Nokia, Sony PSP or other Wi-Fi wireless devices.
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