Fresh on the heels of Cometa Networks Inc. shutting down its Wi-Fi service because investors couldn’t find a way to make money from it, Wi-Fi provider Wayport said it would start selling monthly subscriptions to partners offering Wi-Fi service at McDonald’s. In addition, Wayport will receive an upfront monthly fee from the fast-food giant. Wayport last week introduced Wi-Fi World, a new pricing model for its Wi-Fi-enabled McDonald’s restaurants in which service will be provided for a fixed monthly fee per location rather than using a per-connection rate.
McDonald’s is Wayport’s first Wi-Fi World partner, although the company plans to solicit other nationwide retailers to become partners going forward, said Dan Lowden, Wayport’s vice president of marketing.
From an end-user standpoint, Wi-Fi World is “all about choice,” said Lowden. Under this model, consumers can choose who they will pay for their Wi-Fi service and where they will access it. Wayport’s current roaming partners include AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Boingo, Fiberlink, GoRemote, iPass, MCI, SBC, Sprint and Verizon Wireless.
Under the new pricing plan, those partners pay $32 per month per store to Wayport and then get to keep any revenue they make from end users accessing the service. They are also entitled to create their own pricing plans and rates.
Service providers also receive revenue from Wayport for providing high-speed business DSL in McDonald’s locations, and they can participate in in-store branding by paying annual fees per location.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s restaurants will pay Wayport a negotiated up-front and per-month, per-store fee, while Wayport provides installation, support and managed services and connectivity. McDonald’s also shares revenues from walk-up customers who pay $2.95 per hour for use of the service and will get a share of the fixed revenues Wayport is collecting once they surpass a certain level, said Lowden. Lowden did not specify what that price point would be.
“Wayport’s Wi-Fi World strategy and teaming approach will bring increased customer opportunity and loyalty to all parties involved,” said Dave Vucina, chief executive officer of Wayport. “And for the first time, a large-scale deployment of Wi-Fi service in one of the most well-recognized brands in the world will have complete buy-in and financial support to be successful for all parties long term.”
Wayport plans to have its service deployed in 500 McDonald’s locations-300 of which are already active-by the end of June. The Wi-Fi-enabled restaurants are located in Boise, Idaho; Chicago; New York; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh, N.C.; Seattle; and San Francisco. From there, the company will begin tackling its deployment city by city, said Lowden.
