Junk food retailer signs multi-year deal for free customer Wi-Fi with O2
O2 has announced it has secured a new five year deal to provide the free Wi-Fi available in McDonald's UK restaurants. The partnership will see McDonald's 1,200-strong restaurant estate switch to O2 Wi-Fi in time for this summer's festivities.
Supported by O2 Wi-Fi, McDonald's customers will be able to access a free, fast and easy to use service. They only need to sign up once and can then use the simple and secure service in any McDonald's restaurant, or any of O2's Wi-Fi hotspots. The new deal strengthens the existing partnership that spans both mobile and services offered through O2's media business.
O2 was the first large fixed or mobile operator to offer free, simple and fast Wi-Fi for all and McDonald's has been a pioneer in the provision of free, mass Wi-Fi since 2007. In January 2012 the restaurant chain became the first company to gain accreditation from Mumsnet as a Family Friendly Public Wi-Fi provider.
Gavin Franks, MD of O2 Wi-Fi, said: “A year ago we set out our ambition to transform public Wi-Fi in the UK by offering a fast and reliable public Wi-Fi connection that is genuinely free for all, no matter which mobile or broadband provider they are with. This announcement builds on the significant partnerships already secured by O2 Wi-Fi in the past 12 months, enabling millions of people the length and breadth of the UK to access the internet for free whilst on the move.”
Mark Fabes, IT director, McDonald's UK, said: “When we launched our Wi-Fi service in 2007 McDonald's became the UK's biggest provider of free wireless internet access. Since then usage has soared, with growing numbers of professionals making use of our restaurant Wi-Fi for business meetings and remote working, as well as families and individuals being able to use the network to check emails, shop online or keep up to date with the latest news.
“Recent figures showed that a staggering 750,000 McDonald's customers are logging on in our restaurants each month and we are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience,” continued Fabes. “For the three million people we serve in our restaurants each day we believe that O2's mobile expertise and enhanced quality of network connectivity will deliver a fast, safe and secure service for our customers to use when they visit us.”
Access to O2 Wi-Fi hotspots is through a simple sign up process and will be free to both O2 and non-O2 customers. All hotspots will be premium public hotspots, as opposed to using residential connections with limited bandwidth.
This is the latest in a series of new partnerships for O2 Wi-Fi which includes: operator of restaurants and pubs, Mitchells and Butlers; high street department store group, House of Fraser; restaurant chain, Tragus; Westminster Council; and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In 2012, O2 Wi-Fi has already announced an additional 3,000 UK hotspots which it has added to its network.
