News

McDonald's UK partners with free WiFi provider

April 2, 2012

O2 has announced that it has secured a new five-year deal to provide the free wireless Internet available in McDonald's 1,200 restaurants in the United Kingdom. The chain will switch to the O2 system in time for this summer's Olympic Games in London.

McDonald's first began offering wireless services in 2007. In January 2012, McDonald's became the first company to gain accreditation from Mumsnet as a Family Friendly Public WiFi provider.

Supported by O2 WiFi, McDonald's customers will be able to access a free, fast and easy-to-use service. They only need to sign-up once and can then use the secure service in any McDonald's restaurant, or any of O2's WiFi hotspots. The new deal strengthens the existing partnership that spans both mobile and services offered through O2's media business.

"When we launched our WiFi service in 2007, McDonald's became the UK's biggest provider of free wireless Internet access. Since then usage has soared, with growing numbers of professionals making use of our restaurant WiFi for business meetings and remote working, as well as families and individuals being able to use the network to check emails, shop online or keep up to date with the latest news," said Mark Fabes, IT director for McDonald's UK.

Recent figures showed that 750,000 McDonald's customers log on each month.

"We are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience. For the 3 million people we serve in our restaurants each day we believe that O2's mobile expertise and enhanced quality of network connectivity will deliver a fast, safe and secure service for our customers to use when they visit us," Fabes added.

O2 began transforming public Wireless connectivity in the UK about a year ago, regardless of users' mobile or broadband provider.

"This announcement builds on the significant partnerships already secured by O2 WiFi in the past 12 months, enabling millions of people the length and breadth of the UK to access the Internet for free whilst on the move," said Gavin Franks of O2 WiFi.

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