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Mike Elgan's picture
Mike Elgan

The World Is My Office

Starbucks announces free Wi-Fi

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. -- Starbucks Corp. today announced that it's dumping longtime partner T-Mobile and switching to AT&T. Best of all, the company said Wi-Fi will now be free for Starbucks card-holders in many stores for the first two hours per day (as I predicted).

I wrote back in October that "Starbucks will start rolling out free Wi-Fi access within one year." The reason: Five years after announcing for-pay Wi-Fi, "the model appears old and stale and ready for a complete overhaul."

Starbucks plans to offer the new AT&T service initially at 7,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S. It's available to Starbucks debit card users and Starbucks partners only.

Non-cardholding customers can pay $3.99 for two hours -- which, of course, will incent customers to get the debit card. Monthly membership will cost $19.99 per month, and will enable access to AT&T's 70,000 hot spots in 89 countries.

The company also announced that more than 12 million "qualifying AT&T broadband and AT&T U-verse Internet customers" would get unlimited free Wi-Fi at Starbucks.

The service starts in spring.

Here's the rest of the story.

 

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What People Are Saying

Why would anyone pay 4$ for

Why would anyone pay 4$ for a crap cup of coffee when I can get free WiFi and a good bottomless cup at one of the infinite coffee houses in almost any city? Panaras in Wichita is a great place to sit and have a bottmless cup of Jo and a muffin and use free WiFi. I would not go into a starbucks to empty my blader.

Does AT&T- use Wifi "N"

I just bought a new computer and it has Wifi B-G and am trying to find out if ATT or starbucks use the new Wifi N so I can take it back and buy another that does Have Wifi N. Does anybody know if Att and Starbucks allready use Wifi N?
thanks rgaryc at hot mail dot com

In today's economy every

In today's economy every dollar count.

I have a lot of work to get done today, and have bee googling for a location that is suitable to allowing me to work on line, yet is also free to use. It appears I will be heading to a Panera Breads location, where I can get good coffee, good food, and most of all FREE WiFi connection. In my opinion WiFi should always be offered to customers as a free service.

Starsucks

In the San Francisco bay area, we have so many wireless network locations (including free city wifi) that we do not need to be tempted by ATT and Starbucks lame attempt to con people into their locations...

There once was a barister who had a shop,
And lame-o was its name oh.

L
A
M
E-O

L
A
M
E-O

L
A
M
E-O
... and lame-o was its name oh...

If all you people dont like

If all you people dont like coming to starbucks to use the interent...then stay home and keep out of out stores clogging up the space for people who arent whiney and can apprectiate good offers.

Still!

Some like Starbucks some Don't.
If you have read Foamy the Squerl spelling?
then you know why some don't
I still like starbucks a lot.
It can get expensive if you go every day but once or twice a week I enjoy a great cup of coffee, FREE (yes! now free) WiFi, and a barista that knows me by name and smiles.

Your life your way. No one tells you what to do. So! enjoy your life and don't tell others what they should do.

M.C.

This is not free at all...

This is not free at all... This is why I go to local coffee places here in Austin. They have better coffee, cheaper coffee, and FREE wi-fi. Screw these people...

come off it

I feel sorry for you people, I really do.

NOT FREE

So it's like $72 for the card and $12 for a small coffee. No Thanks! I'll go to my local coffee shop where they pay me $12 to drink their coffee and use their wifi.

You are spot on, I think the

You are spot on, I think the idiots here who are hawking Starbucks must work for them. Who on earth would pay this kind of money for coffee that sucks, and a service [WiFi] that is free really free at any other coffee house? Panaras, or san francisco bread co. gives free wifi and the coffee is in the customer area and you can refill till your hearts content. They know how to treat customers and keep them coming back. Screw Starbucks, they are living in the past on their old ideas. I would not buy eternal life from them if they were selling it for .005 cents.