Telstra has landed a $90 million network transformation deal to upgrade more than 850 McDonald’s restaurants around the country to a fibre network.
Under the deal, the big telco will deliver an umbrella fibre network for the McDonald’s sites to provide increased speed, security and reliability on its network for customers and provide connectivity that will enhance key restaurant operations and enable licensees to run their back office more effectively.
The deal is part of McDonald’s digital transformation agenda which will see a TIPT Unified Communications solution replacing traditional PSTN to potentially enable video conferencing and greater collaboration between restaurant operations and head office.
Connectivity will be via the Telstra Air Wi-Fi network at restaurants around the country to provide an improved in-store guest Wi-Fi experience for McDonald’s customers, making it the biggest Telstra Air business deal to date.
{loadposition peter}Under the deal, 35 Ronald McDonald Houses around Australia will also be connected to the new network, with Telstra Air provided to help families keep in touch while away from home.
The rollout is expected to take 24 months with a significant number of restaurants operating on the new network within the next 12 months.
Scott Green, chief information officer, McDonald’s Australia said; “Our partnership with Telstra is one of the most transformative technology infrastructure projects ever undertaken by McDonald’s Australia, providing a world class network for now and a platform for innovation and growth in the future.
“Our new network will provide more speed and reliability, creating better connectivity experiences for our customers and enhance key restaurant operations for our back office.”
“McDonald’s is a global leader in transformative customer experiences so we are delighted that Telstra technology will connect and enable these experiences here in Australia,” said Martijn Blanken, chief customer officer, Telstra Enterprise.
“At Telstra, we are shifting to a world where we collaborate with our customers to explore how our network and our technologies can digitise and innovate, enabling conversations about what we can help make possible for our customers’ business, their operations and their customers today and in the future.”