DUBLIN FIRM Anacapa Holdings has won a contract with Burger King which will see it provide a free Wi-Fi service in 2,200 restaurants in 12 European countries.

The roll-out of the service has already begun in Germany and it is expected the service will be available in Irish branches of Burger King by the end of March, according to Joe Brunoli.

Mr Brunoli is managing director of the trading entity which Anacapa operates as Free-hotspot.com.

It offers free internet access in 4,000 locations in 21 countries in Europe. It currently has 76 locations in Ireland which are primarily cafes, restaurants and bars. Venue owners typically pay for the installation of the hardware and have to provide a broadband connection.

Anacapa makes its money by serving up advertising before the user begins their session and shares a small amount of this revenue with the premises owner.

Mr Brunoli says that the deal with Burger King precludes third-party advertising. Instead Burger King plans to use Anacapa’s Wi-Fi Messaging Surveys (WMS) to offer promotions, surveys and other marketing material to diners who are using the service.

According to Mr Brunoli, the popularity of the iPhone and other mobile devices with Wi-Fi, means that quick service restaurants (QSRs) are now looking to provide web access.

“QSRs don’t want a bunch of people hogging tables with laptops during the busy times,” says Mr Brunoli, “but kids with iPhones or iPods are what they want.”

Mr Brunoli said a number of other deals with restaurant chains were in the offing, as a result of which he said the Free-hotspot. com network would double in size by this summer.

The uptake of mobile devices also means that venues like pubs and petrol stations are now looking to provide Wi-Fi services.