Everybody wants free Wi-Fi, and McDonald's Corp. is responding to that demand with Wednesday's announcement that more than 11,000 of its U.S. restaurants will have free Wi-Fi in January.
"We've had Wi-Fi working in our restaurants for five years under the pay-to-play model, but now is the time, with the ubiquity of Wi-Fi devices -- including handhelds and laptops -- to extend that offer," McDonald's USA CIO David Grooms said in an interview today.
"We said, let's go with free Wi-Fi.... We talked to customers and asked what they wanted to see, and they really wanted us to go free. You don't need a lot of focus groups to find that out, and we take what customers say seriously."
Asked whether McDonald's sees free Wi-Fi as a draw for new or infrequent customers, Grooms said, "We'll appeal to customers who visit us already, the folks with a [Wi-Fi] device ...who want a cup of coffee and to visit."
The chain plans to expand the free Wi-Fi service to all 14,000 U.S. restaurants over time, he said.
Grooms wouldn't discuss the financial terms of the free Wi-Fi model, but said it's "one way to extend the McDonald's brand." AT&T provides the Wi-Fi hot spots inside the restaurants and cooperated fully in the decision to offer the service for free, having "been a partner from the beginning," Grooms said.
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