Wi-Fi Starts to Become a Commodity For Everyday Life
Barnes & Noble, McDonald's, and Starbucks are three of the biggest franchises in the world.
One is a bookseller, one is a fast food restaurant, and one is a cafe.
But they all have one thing in common.
They all offer free Wi-Fi and you can surf the web for countless hours.
Barnes & Noble has approximately 800 stores in America.
The bookseller began offering free WiFi on the final week of July 2009 when they told the press that over 700,000 e-book titles were available.
Barnes & Noble has been using AT&T Wi-Fi services since 2005, but charged a tiny fee until this point.
Only AT&T wired broadband customers and some AT&T wireless customers had free wireless access at the bookstores.
McDonald's started offering free Wi-Fi in the first month of 2010 at all of its U.
S.
fast food restaurants.
"We're not just about hamburgers," said Dave Grooms, chief information officer for McDonald's, according to the AP.
"We are about convenience and all kinds of value.
" "We want people to have a comfortable place to sit and check their e-mail and get on line," Dave Grooms said.
"We've become a destination for our beverages and our coffees, and Wi- Fi naturally fits with that.
" McDonald's previously offered internet access through AT&T at 11,000 of its 14,000 U.
S.
locations for a $2.
95 fee for two hours of web surfing but is now be 100% free of charge.
About six months later, Starbucks started offering unlimited free wireless Internet access at all company-operated U.
S.
locations beginning July 1, 2010, part of an continuous effort to bring more customers to Starbucks.
The wireless access includes a new network of news and entertainment content exclusively for Starbucks customers.
It came as Starbucks worked to take business back from rivals like McDonald's and even Panera Bread that has long offered free Internet access to their customers.
Starbucks and McDonald's competed in recent years as McDonald's revamped its new coffee and came out with a great selling McCafe line offering everything from drip coffee and lattes to cappuccinos to cold coffee drinks.
Starbucks customers will also get free Wi-Fi access to some online content through its Wi-Fi starting this Fall.
Named the Starbucks Digital Network, the program is a partnership with Yahoo that will allow Starbucks Web surfers free access to paid sites like the Wall Street Journal, along with exclusive content and free music from other organizations such as Apple Inc.
's iTunes, The New York Times, Patch, USA Today and Zagat.
By having a free WiFi hotspot at each of these locations, customers hang out and stay longer and then it increases the likelihood that they would buy something.
Barnes & Noble sells more books and e-books.
McDonald's sells more McNuggets, french fries, and soda.
Starbucks sells more coffee and cake.
Panera Bread sells more soup and sandwiches.
The number of Wi-Fi locations are increasing for these reasons and sooner or later they will be in every place you can imagine.
One is a bookseller, one is a fast food restaurant, and one is a cafe.
But they all have one thing in common.
They all offer free Wi-Fi and you can surf the web for countless hours.
Barnes & Noble has approximately 800 stores in America.
The bookseller began offering free WiFi on the final week of July 2009 when they told the press that over 700,000 e-book titles were available.
Barnes & Noble has been using AT&T Wi-Fi services since 2005, but charged a tiny fee until this point.
Only AT&T wired broadband customers and some AT&T wireless customers had free wireless access at the bookstores.
McDonald's started offering free Wi-Fi in the first month of 2010 at all of its U.
S.
fast food restaurants.
"We're not just about hamburgers," said Dave Grooms, chief information officer for McDonald's, according to the AP.
"We are about convenience and all kinds of value.
" "We want people to have a comfortable place to sit and check their e-mail and get on line," Dave Grooms said.
"We've become a destination for our beverages and our coffees, and Wi- Fi naturally fits with that.
" McDonald's previously offered internet access through AT&T at 11,000 of its 14,000 U.
S.
locations for a $2.
95 fee for two hours of web surfing but is now be 100% free of charge.
About six months later, Starbucks started offering unlimited free wireless Internet access at all company-operated U.
S.
locations beginning July 1, 2010, part of an continuous effort to bring more customers to Starbucks.
The wireless access includes a new network of news and entertainment content exclusively for Starbucks customers.
It came as Starbucks worked to take business back from rivals like McDonald's and even Panera Bread that has long offered free Internet access to their customers.
Starbucks and McDonald's competed in recent years as McDonald's revamped its new coffee and came out with a great selling McCafe line offering everything from drip coffee and lattes to cappuccinos to cold coffee drinks.
Starbucks customers will also get free Wi-Fi access to some online content through its Wi-Fi starting this Fall.
Named the Starbucks Digital Network, the program is a partnership with Yahoo that will allow Starbucks Web surfers free access to paid sites like the Wall Street Journal, along with exclusive content and free music from other organizations such as Apple Inc.
's iTunes, The New York Times, Patch, USA Today and Zagat.
By having a free WiFi hotspot at each of these locations, customers hang out and stay longer and then it increases the likelihood that they would buy something.
Barnes & Noble sells more books and e-books.
McDonald's sells more McNuggets, french fries, and soda.
Starbucks sells more coffee and cake.
Panera Bread sells more soup and sandwiches.
The number of Wi-Fi locations are increasing for these reasons and sooner or later they will be in every place you can imagine.
