Fee Wi-Fi Hotspots at Burger King

[Broadscape]

We thought you might be interested in a Wi-Fi hotspot pilot we are doing with Burger King in Falkirk, Stirling and East Kilbride. The sites are offering 30min periods of free Wi-Fi access with any purchase over 99p.

We are trying to raise awareness of the hotspot trial which lasts until the end of July. If we are to continue providing such affordable Wi-Fi and deploy across all Burger King restaurants then we need to spread the word and encourage usage now.

Give it a go and give us your feedback. Sites are:

Windsor - Thames Street, on the hill opposite Windsor Castle, SL4 1PL
Falkirk High Street - Across from Howgate Centre, FK1 1NR
Stirling - King Street entrance to Thisle Centre, FK8 2EJ
East Kilbride Drive Thru - Kingsgate Retail Park, Nerston, G74 4UN

***Links removed***

[Sparky__H]

I think it’s an extremely ill thought out idea on the part of the BK Corporation.

Here’s a few negative points I came up with the time it took to read this post:

1. Such places do not attract the type of business who use/require remote access to inter-network systems.

2. Customers want to be in and out of fast-food restaurants as fast as humanely possible let alone stay and serf, the calm atmosphere isn’t there to attract the users.

3. I can’t see anyone accessing an offsite secure server though a Burger King Access point without getting fired. (Were talking standard secret wep encryption?)

4. I personally would never bring an expensive piece of electronics anywhere near a chav haunt like a burger bar.



If your trying to get people to sit down and eat more food using this ploy then good luck to you sir.

[Big Adam]

Hi,

I've just deleted the links from your post. This forum is sponsored by a retail outlet and as such we do not generally allow free commercial advertising.

This does not necessarily mean you will not be allowed to continue posting here but please drop an email to admin@kustompcs.co.uk requesting permission and include a link to this thread.

It's only polite :)

[Broadscape]

It looks like we have given the impression of a large commercial organisation trying to abuse your forums for commercial gain. This could not be further from the truth.

Broadscape is not part of Burger King but is a company trying very hard to promote free Wi-Fi access (particularly for those who can not afford corporate rates) as the way forward.

Interesting points raised by Spark_H:

1. We are hoping to make Wi-Fi available to everyone, not just business users with company credit cards but students and other wireless device users.

2. Take your point about the ambiance, which is why this has been done in conjunction with a new look and feel refurbishment by Burger King at these sites. All part of trying to address that exact issue and improve the in-store experience.

3. No public Wi-Fi network or hotel or guest connection should ever be considered secure for corporate remote access to servers. However, companies that use a VPN client from a reputable supplier should be secure between the mobile device and remote server - whatever the connection.

4. Again a good point however Wi-Fi is now not only found in laptops but also PDAs, mobile phones and portable gaming equipment.

The "Virtually Free" model is working well in other cafes and restaurants to provide affordable access. We value all the feedback so give it a go - even if it is to check out the new look Burger King.

Most importantly please spread the word.

[tremble]

Quite an interesting idea, not quite sure my opinion on it yet. Could be quite good I spose, taking a break from uni at lunch time and heading down to Burger King. While im having my lunch I can check my emails, go on MSN ect.

There are a few concerns and issues I have though. The first is the same as sparky's 4th point, I don't know how comfortable I would be getting my laptop out in somewhere like Burger King, think I would always be looking over my shoulder watching for hot fingered neds. The other point is what sort of access and protection is there going to be. I've seen some placed where their proxy is so strict that you can hardly get past your home page but at the same time I don't want to be sitting eating my lunch while someone at the next table is looking through porn or something.

[Sparky__H]

In order for the average Joe idiot off the street to use this service there must be no type of encryption (secrete, pub/priv or certificate verification) which means I can sit in the car park and access every dynamic client of the access point while their in operation.

tremble hit it in one, no security with open port access means free range of socket access, blocking all but port 80 means limited applicable use (no FTP, no SSL/SSH) lets face it wireless by its very design is insecure.

In order for BK to make good use of this technology they must change their customer base, which would be an unwise decision.


blagh...

[matkubicki]

Well whilst at Uni a group of us use the Bt openworld zone in McDonalds everyday, sometimes for the whole afternoon if we dont fancy going back!

And there we have to pay £15 a month (iirc), so for the price of a meal i think this system could work as it will make it more attractive to the casual passer by. It depends on the place i guess but we find the Mcdonalds in Salford (Chav central) is actually ok for working and browsing, we often do last minute full day coursework-athons in there.

One thing you need to make sure of though is that people cant get round the charges, for example we have three laptops between us but only pay for one to access the internet and then share that connection using a proxy server on the paying laptop. I know, I know were abusing the service but were computing students and if we can we usually will.

[Sparky__H]

Your right matkubicki the only way to make such a system financially viable is to make sure it cant be accessed by just anyone, but sadly the very design of wireless communication makes this impossible. How do I allow persona A who has paid his 15£ a year access rights while stopping person B? MAC filter tables would be one solution but sadly these can be spoofed (ARP).

[Broadscape]

Absolutely right. We have worked hard on this issue and now each user has to have an access code - which is only fair.

If you are one of the small percentage of the population who have the skills to spoof the system, then you probably deserve free access ;o)

We have also added a further Burger King location in Windsor so do try it out and let us know how it goes:

Windsor - Thames Street, on the hill opposite Windsor Castle, SL4 1PL
Falkirk High Street - Across from Howgate Centre, FK1 1NR
Stirling - King Street entrance to Thisle Centre, FK8 2EJ
East Kilbride Drive Thru - Kingsgate Retail Park, Nerston, G74 4UN

[Sparky__H]

This code transfer and verification system require the instillation of 3rd party software from yourselves?

[Broadscape]

All you need is a web browser to bring up the login screen. When you buy something the Burger King staff give you a unique access code to type in and that's it.

For laptops, PDAs and Smartphones this works fine. Currently the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS portable gaming machines are shipped without browsers. Some games ship with browsers (Wipeout Pure for PSP) and we are also working on alternative methods of offering access to gamers.

[digit]

This unique access code is time restricted then? I'm not sure how I see how someone is not going to give there unique access code to another person to use.....

[tremble]

This unique access code is time restricted then?[QUOTE]

[Quote=Broadscape]The sites are offering 30min periods of free Wi-Fi access with any purchase over 99p.

Im assuming that the code is registerd with the system upon payment for your meal and has a 30 minute expiry time.


I'm not sure how I see how someone is not going to give there unique access code to another person to use.....

Well in all fairness you should be allowed to share one code accross multiple devices, say you buy two meals for yourself and a freind, shouldn't you both be entitled to access?? Essentially it would be quite simple to restrict the access code to one device, just set it up that each code can only be assigned to one ip address.

[Stocky]

Sounds like a fair idea. Its good to have a service there to use, as it could come in handy.

Wireless is a bit dodgy, I can access my neighbours networks and download from the web through them :) They have no idea! :D

[Broadscape]

It would be interesting to understand from any Wi-Fi users out there if you think free Wi-Fi is a factor in choosing where to take a break and get online?

Or whether you would be prepared to pay a premium to sit in Starbucks (£5/hr - £13/day)?

[jacobzcoool]

I would never take a laptop anywhere near a chav-infested area such as a fastfood restaurant

[DarkEntity]

while on the note of free net access, Glasgow city centre has been setup for wireless access, George Sq, Buchan St, Sauchiehall St and a few other areas ;)

[TimEG]

I have to say most of the latest PDA's have Wi-Fi built in so increasing the wi-fi coverage accross the UK can only be a good thing. It would be great if everywhere had wi-fi and it became the norm instead of a competitive advantage. That way it would be un-competitive NOT to have wi-fi rather than the other way round. Once it becomes more prevelant, more phones and PDA's will come with wi-fi meaning free surfing on your phone instead of sky-high GPRS costs.....

Sounds great to me!

[tremble]

while on the note of free net access, Glasgow city centre has been setup for wireless access, George Sq, Buchan St, Sauchiehall St and a few other areas ;)

REALLY!?!?! Since when?? :rolleyes:

[PHILIP1193]

people will sit out side burger kind and use it lol. I would b affraid of been labeled a geek for sitting there too many glaring at you and it woudl b awkward too in a fast food restuarant, screaming kids, chavs etc, possiblility of theft

phil

[UbT]

http://intel.jiwire.com/ find out were all the wirless hot spots are in your country :)

[pumpman]

just looked at the list ans see there are 19 hotspots in out town :0

[UbT]

just looked at the list ans see there are 19 hotspots in out town :0
240 in bristol (p.s American Chopper! sooooo kool!)