Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Borders Group and McDonald’s are the latest companies to collaborate with Intel to help promote “hot spots” for high-speed wireless Internet access, reports c|net. The hot spots will utilize Wi-Fi technology, also called 802.11b — the standard Apple’s AirPort is based on. Hilton plans to install the access points at nearly 50 of its hotels in major cities in North America within the next 30 days. The company will then expand the technology across Hilton’s 230 full-service properties over the next few months. Borders said that it plans to launch hot spots at more than 400 of its Borders Books & Music stores across the US. McDonald’s will provide the Web access at its fast-food restaurants in three cities, offering one hour of free access to customers who purchase a combo meal. The pilot program currently includes 10 McDonald’s restaurants in Manhattan and is scheduled to expand to several hundred restaurants in three major US markets by year’s end.
