Restaurant chews on value of free Internet

McDonald's has become the latest catering chain to offer free Internet access to customers as more young professionals come to regard wireless online access as an essential part of life.

The fast-food chain has been expanding aggressively in Beijing since last year. In 2010, it plans to open another 150 outlets in China.

Cao Gengxin, manager of the McDonald's in Andinglu, told METRO the company will install Wi-Fi in 15 stores in upscale Beijing neighborhoods as pilot projects to see if the idea should be rolled out.

The burger-maker has 115 restaurants in Beijing, according to its website.

"Actually, some stores already have wireless access available because they are in office buildings. The wireless signal can leak into the restaurant; for those places, we don't even need to install our own facilities," he said.

Another manager, surnamed Liu, who looks after the Xidan store, said the installation would be finished before April. "My store is among the first batch because we have a lot of customers all year round," Liu said.

A regular visitor, surnamed Yang, said he was happy to learn about the Wi-Fi plan. "Wireless is the trend for fast-food restaurants; I would like to check my e-mails before I eat. I'm very busy, that's why I eat fast-food. I would be very happy if I can make use of my waiting time," he said.

Although some customers were happy about the pending free wireless service, Yang said it might have a negative spin-off, making the restaurants too crowded.

"But anyway, this is the tradeoff for the convenience."

Another customer, who refused to give his name, expressed concern about the prospect of free wireless service in restaurants.

"Fast-food is bad enough for the health, I don't want to add extra radiation in the restaurant; and of course, it gives me more stress since I have to think of other things while eating," he said. McDonald's will follow the lead of Starbucks coffee shops which launched free Internet access for consumers last year.