It was reported back in December that McDonald's had reached a deal with AT&T to provide free wireless, and now it has finally come to pass. What does this mean for consumers? A new reason to drop by McDonald's on a regular basis. Having free WiFi could make for an important point of differentiation from other restaurants. With a consumer base that is becoming more and more "plugged in" to the internet knowing that you can go to McD's for a reliable hotspot could mean the difference between going to McD's or that other restaurant down the block. This move into WiFi puts McDonald's into closer competition with a different type of establishment, coffee shops. You can see that McDonald's has made moves to develop themselves in that area with the introduction of McCafes in past years. Having marketed heavily to meal-time customers in the past, they have shifted tactics to focus on casual coffee drinkers. The introduction of WiFi is one more step in repositioning McDonald's away from their original image of a fatty hamburger chain.
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