Qwest customers will be able to access the Web with their laptops at McDonald’s restaurants, Starbucks coffee shops and Barnes & Noble bookstores. The service also will be available to the company’s small-business customers.

Qwest on Thursday announced it has started offering subscribers to its high-speed Internet service no-charge access to about 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the US, which includes access to Usenet newsgroups. What is being touted as the country’s largest Wi-Fi network, the hotspots are powered by AT&T, and Qwest subscribers can check for all the locations and log-in info at a dedicated Qwest website. Once you are connected, you can then use a newsreader in order to connect to Usenet.

Recently, Qwest commissioned a study conducted by Impulse Research Corporation, a full-service market research firm, that found nearly half of all respondents valued Wi-Fi because it provided them with the freedom and flexibility to stay connected beyond the home or office. The Wi-Fi network will be powered by AT&T Wi-Fi and includes 17,000 hotspots nationwide.