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rfmcdonaldThis news item caught my attention.
Although Canada got restaurants with WiFi starting in 2003, it looks like only now is WiFi getting deployed on a wider scale in Canadian restaurants, in Vancouver in time for the Winter Olympics. Why? The CBC suggests that politics somewhere may be responsible.
All I'll say is that I like their coffee--the price per volume's great--but the idea of sitting down and checking my Yahoo!Mail over a Big Mac so doesn't appeal.
Starting today, fast-food restaurant McDonald's will begin offering free Wi-Fi access at 11,500 of its 14,000 U.S. locations. It's a nice improvement from the $2.95 they were previously charging for two hours, and it could come in pretty handy in a pinch, considering the ubiquity of McDonald's.
Although Canada got restaurants with WiFi starting in 2003, it looks like only now is WiFi getting deployed on a wider scale in Canadian restaurants, in Vancouver in time for the Winter Olympics. Why? The CBC suggests that politics somewhere may be responsible.
Some market analysts say McDonald's has not rolled out Wi-Fi in Canada because doing so would bring the chain into conflict with the country's cellphone providers, such as Bell Canada Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp., who have been stifling the spread of public Wi-Fi for years.
"If you look at who owns the wireless networks, it's all telcos, and they have no interest in promoting Wi-Fi because it competes with their network," said Eamon Hoey, senior partner of market strategy consulting firm Hoey Associates. "We're just behind on the technology. We're lacking terribly in competition and innovation."
[. . .]
"There are a number of chains and retailers that have Wi-Fi so technically it's not a problem," said Lawrence Surtees, principal telecommunications analyst for IDC Canada. "That kind of rules out some nefarious carrier factors."
Instead, Surtees says McDonald's Canada has not yet converted to the new philosophy of its parent company wherein customers are being encouraged to stay in restaurants longer.
"The focus is on herding you in and out," he said. "It's about turnaround, getting you out, don't loiter."
Hoey said the economics of offering Wi-Fi are different for McDonald's than they are for Starbucks or Second Cup because they attract a different type of customer. McDonald's customers are typically more budget-conscious, which would pressure the chain into keeping the cost of Wi-Fi access low — something it may not be able to do if the asking price from the carriers to provide the service is too high.
All I'll say is that I like their coffee--the price per volume's great--but the idea of sitting down and checking my Yahoo!Mail over a Big Mac so doesn't appeal.
