In December, McDonald’s announced that they would begin offering free unlimited Wi-Fi at 11,000 of their 14,000 locations beginning in mid-January. Previously, McDonald’s charged for Wi-Fi usage in their restaurants.
This is significant for two reasons. First, it suddenly makes finding Wi-Fi access extremely easy. Is there any place more ubiquitous than McDonald’s in this country? Second, it solidifies the expectation (for better or worse) that Wi-Fi access should be free at restaurants and other similar publicly accessible locations. Certainly, among many people the expectation of free Wi-Fi already exists, but many businesses have resisted. Now that McDonald’s has changed its tune, expect all major companies to follow suit.
Personally, I can say that I have in fact chosen to stop at a restaurant other than McDonald’s because I knew that McDonald’s charged for Wi-Fi and the other restaurant didn’t. I must wonder if McDonald’s was seeing this trend in significant numbers or if not, what caused them to make this change.
So remember, if you are in need of quick Wi-Fi access, simply find the nearest McDonald’s. Just don’t ask to super size it.
