Oct/Nov 2007

Little by little, free public Wi-Fi wireless Internet access is becoming more widely available in the UK market - although much of the running is still being made by deals to offer it through commercial premises such as cafŽs and restaurants.

McDonald's is one of the latest major catering chains to announce availability. It says nearly 1,200 UK locations will soon be able to offer free Wi-Fi, following what it calls 'a strategic reorganisation' of its telecoms and IT services by Aurora Kendrick James and its own internal information services department.

The system introduced by AKJ will include both secure, private corporate Internet access for McDonalds' own use, and free Wi-Fi access for customers. There is reportedly also potential to deliver a wide range of additional services in the future.

In the last m.logistics we reported a development by McDonald's in Belgium to offer customers free Wi-Fi through the free-hotspot.com advertising-sponsored service. While this company does not appear to feature in the UK system, it recently announced that its system is to be offered in Outback Steakhouse outlets in the UK.

Currently the Outback group has only a handful of its Australian-themed restaurants round the periphery of London, but worldwide it has nearly 1,000 outlets, and future growth in the UK is expected.