The majority of McDonald's restaurants across the United States are now offering free Wi-Fi, including more than 600 McDonald's restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties in California.
More than 11,000 of the chain's 14,000 U.S. locations provide Wi-Fi Internet connections, making it the largest provider of free connections in the nation. The chain is also the leading provider of out-of-home Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide, with one in six reported Wi-Fi hotspots in the United States located at McDonald's, according to Jiwire.com data. According to the Wi-Fi advertising network, as of Dec. 31, 2009, there are 68,609 hotspots in the United States (paid and free), with McDonald's representing more than 16 percent of reported U.S. hotspots.
Industry analysts have suggested the chain's moving to free wireless connections is another attempt to take on coffeehouse leader Starbucks, but McDonald's executives and operators continue to reiterate that the company is focused on its business and its customers.
"McDonald's is committed to providing our customers with quality, convenience and service all at a great value," said Neal Ruby, McDonald's owner/operator and president of the McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California (MOASC). "Free Wi-Fi is just another way we are bringing greater value to our customers, when they need it the most."
Dave Grooms, chief information officer of McDonald's, told Forbes that the free service is part of the chain's reimaging program, which includes updating to more upscale interirors and its entry into specialty beverages, including the McCafe espresso-based offerings.
From Forbes:
"Our new restaurants are bright and airy. The welcoming interior decor is warm. Couple that with coffee. Those bright interiors and coffee just fit together, and you add Wi-Fi to that and we are inviting people back to our restaurants."Asked if McDonald's was trying to draw a new customer base, Grooms said: "Everybody is a McDonald's customer. Everybody is carrying some sort of device. It might be the laptop crowd, it might be the iPhone crowd. We're about value and convenience."
Customers can access free Wi-Fi at McDonald's by opening their browser, connecting to the access point and accepting the agreement terms.
MOASC is comprised of over 600 franchised and company-owned McDonald's restaurants in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura in Southern California.
