Taco Bell to provide free Wi-Fi and in-store entertainment

Taco Bell will be outfitting all its US restaurants with free Wi-Fi and TV screens that will air music, lifestyle, entertainment and sports content in a bid to improve customers' in-store eating experience.

By 2015, all 5,600 of its locations across the US will offer free Wi-Fi for its customers. Currently, only 40 restaurants offer the service.

But last week's announcement is a belated move in the fast-food world, where chains like Starbucks and McDonald's already offer free Wi-Fi to their customers.

The latter, for instance, provides free Wi-Fi at 11,500 locations across the US.

Since last July 1, all Starbucks outlets across the US and Canada began offering free, unlimited Wi-Fi. Prior to that, customers needed to sign in with an account and password, and were limited to two hours of internet use a day.

Burger King also announced last year that it would start offering free Wi-Fi in 2,200 of its restaurants in 12 countries throughout Europe, including Germany, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, all US Taco Bell locations will also feature TV screens that air programs from Restaurant Entertainment Network, the same service used by Denny's, Arby's, Wendy's, Carl's Jr, and Hardee's.

The magazine-style show theBite and theBite Weekend feature short, punchy hits on entertainment and sports news, movie, TV and video game previews, and lifestyle segments that include product reviews, seasonal shopping tips and travel and leisure news.

Dine-in restaurants like Applebee's, Chili's and Hooters also provide on-screen entertainment throughout their establishments.