You have to PAY for McDonalds WiFi access!!

[hotcouponmama]

There are 31,000 McDonalds. Even if they only pay $10 a month for their service per location, it comes to $3,720,000 a year. Not exactly pocket change.

As for the who pays for the playgrounds?... I think this family has a little stock in that with the happy meals we purchase

McDonald's wireless is through a service they've contracted with to provide the service, called Wayport. You can then get access through the contracted providers. I subscribe to Boingo, which is one of the McD's options. It also gives me unlimited access at lots of other places. Boingo is $9.95 a month, and since there's a mcd's just about anywhere, I know I can get logged in. So, McD's isn't the one paying for it - they've simply piped in a provider for you to use. The provider is the one charging for it.

I just got an email today from Comcast about usage. The limit with our account is 250GB of bandwidth a month. They believe 99% of customers won't use that much a month, and I'm thinking they're priming themselves to start charging those who go over that amount. I couldn't get their usage calculator up so I'm not sure how much I'm using (probably more than the average customer).

I will say though as someone who pays the server bill for HCW, I've learned that it's all about having enough signal in the pipes to keep people humming along online, and it's not cheap to do.

Someone else asked about why Starbucks or other companies are giving free wi-fi. You have to stop and look at the fact that if they're providing access, you're still paying for it in the form of higher prices on the items you buy. In fact, if I go to starbucks and not use the wireless, I'm still paying for someone else to use it in the price of my cup of coffee or whatever. I'd rather pay the $9.95 a month for unlimited access at thousands of places and not get dinged on the price of my goods and services to fund other people's wireless experience.

[thecooperhouse]

Saw a sign at McD's yesturday that they will begin having Free Wifi.

[shelleyf]

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[queenofthehivemomof5]

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[Shy2481]

The problem is that many, many people in our society believe that if someone has and someone else doesn't then the one who has MUST give for the have not. Rich people make more money so they should pay more taxes so someone who refuses to even try can have also. Companies who make a profit should give so that those without can have. People should only be able to make so much money because then we can all be more equal. Our country is falling apart because of this. People are losing a sense of responsibility for their own. Yes some people are on hard times and need help, but that doesn't mean that anybody is automatically entitled to anything. It is awesome when a company offers free wifi or free water or whatever, but they don't have to. There is no law that says because you have and I want, I get.

Good Post!

[concernedshopper]

wow...at my McD's, wifi IS free...they don't charge for that here...how does that even work? Do you have to have a code or something?