McDonald’s To Offer Free WiFi In 1,200 UK Outlets; Is Content Next?

McDonald’s is going to start offering free WiFi access in 1,200 of its restaurants across the UK, putting other public WiFi operators like Starbucks, which offer the service for a fee, under some serious pressure. The deal makes McDonald’s the biggest provider of free Internet in the country.

While McDonald’s has not announced any deals to offer any specific content or services beyond Internet connectivity, the door is now open to develop further services, such as the music store offered by Starbucks, or games, like its more direct rival Burger King. In the U.S., the fast-food chain has partnered with a company called Akoo to offer m-Venue, a content service that focuses on music and videos, downloaded via SMS or WiFi. McDonald’s has been working on a content service for at least three years now, and it is now rolling it out gradually across its U.S. footprint. According to the McDonald’s web site, it offers WiFi in 15,000 of its restaurants worldwide.

Connectivity in the UK will be provided by The Cloud, a public WiFi operator once owned by BT (NYSE: BT), which also has struck a deal with Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) owned O2 and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to provide WiFi connectivity as part of the UK subscription packages for iPhones. “Everyone from big and small business people through to students and online gaming enthusiasts stand to benefit, and it’s possible that it could signal the beginning of the end of high-cost wireless Internet access in the U.K.,” a McD’s spokesperson told DJ Newswires.

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