Ten McDonald's in Manhattan will begin offering wireless WiFi, or 802.11b, Internet access on Wednesday, McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa Howard said, and by year's end, McDonald's will extend the access to 300 McDonald restaurants in New York City, Chicago and a yet-unannounced California town.
"You can come in and have an extra value meal and send some e-mail," Howard said. Window signs will alert customers to the restaurants with WiFi access, she said.
Besides McDonald's, Internet surfers will also be able to tote their laptops to 400 U.S. Borders book stores, hundreds of hotels and a pair of U.S. airports where WiFi access will be available by summer, companies announced Monday.
Toshiba and Intel have also said they'll set up wireless "hot spots" in coffee shops, hotels and convenience stores across the United States.
For those who roost with their laptops in McDonald's, Internet surfing could affect the waistline. After using the hour of free access that comes with a meal, customers can pay $3 for another hour online -- or simply buy another extra value meal, Howard said, adding that the pilot program lasts for three months.
Cometa Networks, a startup working to offer WiFi connections in businesses across the country, will provide the Internet bandwidth for the offer. McDonalds' announcement coincides with several related WiFi developments timed to coincide with the Wednesday release of Intel's Centrino microprocessor.
The Centrino chip, tailored for laptop computers, contains a built-in WiFi transceiver that allows Internet access at speeds of up to 11 megabits per second, far faster than dial-up connections. More than a dozen computer makers will introduce new Centrino-based laptops on Wednesday.
Hilton, Mariott, Sheraton, Westin and W hotels will tout wireless access points in hundreds of hotels in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Wireless access will also be extended to passenger lounges at the airports in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco, Intel said.
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