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Have you ever wondered which businesses have the fastest free Wi-Fi in America? The first edition of PCMag’s Fastest Free Nationwide Wi-Fi rankings have been released and if you are one of the millions of people who use public Wi-Fi when you are out and about this information is going to be a must-read.
As we are all very aware by now, coffee shops, restaurants, retail stores and other establishments that we frequent offer free Wi-Fi all across the United States, and the world. And now, thanks to PCMag doing all the legwork, analyzing thousands of crowdsourced tests to see which ones have the best connectivity, we now know the best public places to connect.
Top 3 Fastest Free Coffee Shop Wi-Fi
• Dunkin’ Donuts
• Peet’s Coffee
• Starbucks
Top 3 Fastest Free Fast Food Wi-Fi
• McDonald’s
• Panera Bread
• Arby’s
Top 3 Fastest Free Retail Store Wi-Fi
• Microsoft Store
• Apple Store
• REI
Top 3 Fastest Free Retail Big-Box and Department Store Wi-Fi
• Meijer
• Bloomingdales’s
• Walmart
What does this means for consumers?
• Businesses offer Wi-Fi for a few different reasons. Starbucks is invested in the concept of the “third place” — basically, a home away from home, where you’re likely to return over and over again.
• Wi-Fi helps the company maintain that loyalty by becoming the nation’s default co-working space.
• At family restaurants, Wi-Fi has become critical to keeping kids calm. Many families come in with phones or tablets and expect to pacify their children with streaming video.
• In an era of social media, Wi-Fi encourages shoppers and diners to post promotional photos to their Instagram accounts without using up their data plans.
• Retail chains may have sneakier motives. By monitoring the kinds of surfing and comparison shopping that’s being done on in-store Wi-Fi, they can tweak their price and product mix. If you’re wandering around Target checking prices on Amazon, Target can sniff out which products you’re checking; it’s much more efficient than having a staffer follow you around.
Read all the details of the 2018 Fastest Free Nationwide Wi-Fi of 2018 feature over at PCMag.com.