MCDONALD’S: Contract awarded for wireless rollout

McDonald’s Corp. awarded an exclusive contract to Wayport Inc. of Austin, Texas, to roll out a nationwide network of wireless Internet “hot spots.” McDonald’s chose Wayport over two rivals for the networks, which deliver wireless Internet access using Wi-Fi technology.

Pilot wireless Internet projects were run for several months at dozens of McDonald’s locations around the country. Customer surveys showed the service was popular.

“This potentially is the largest single Wi-Fi deployment in the world,” said Wayport Chief Executive Dave Vucina.

Oak Brook-based McDonald’s operates more than 13,000 restaurants in the United States.