They Heard Ya: Starbucks Announces Free Wi-Fi
February 12, 2008 | 10:43 amAsk and you shall receive!
From the NY Times…
SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks Corp. and AT&T Inc. will start offering a mix of free and paid wireless Internet service in most of the global coffee retailer’s U.S. shops, beginning this spring.
The move announced Monday ends a six-year Starbucks partnership with T-Mobile, which did not include free Wi-Fi and charged higher fees than AT&T will.
Starbucks said it will give customers who use a Starbucks purchase card two hours of free wireless access per day. More time than that will cost $3.99 for a two-hour session. Monthly memberships will cost $19.99 and include access to any of AT&T’s 70,000 hot spots worldwide.
Nearly all of AT&T’s broadband Internet customers, about 12 million, will automatically have unlimited free Wi-Fi access at Starbucks, the companies said.
The deal boosts the number of AT&T hotspots in the U.S. to 17,000 — the most in the nation.
Carl linked to this article in our previous Starbucks post, but I thought it deserved a higher profile. Thanks Carl!
I’m thinking this has to do with Apple. They’ve got an exclusive deal with AT&T and an iTunes deal with Starbucks.
That’s awesome news. Thanks for sharing! I am really looking forward to getting free wireless at Starbucks when I am out of town. I think that Starbucks must have seen your previous post!
Oh yes…Decatur Metro is very influential amongst the Seattle elite.
Not to split too fine a hair, but this isn’t free. If you have a AT&T DSL line of high enough quality it will be no additional charge. If you don’t have an AT&T DSL account, it’s less than the TMobile charge, but still not free…
[...] ranging from approximately $10/day – $35/month) which is ridiculous. Although there have been reports of Starbucks changing this policy (possibly offering the first 2 hours free) they still fall short [...]
FYI, today (the 14th) is the last today to register a new or existing SBUX Card to get a coupon in the mail for a free drink: http://www.starbucks.com/card
If you don’t already have numerous cards floating around from past gifts, giveaways, or SBUX’s attempt to compensate for inadequate service, you can buy one at a store (I think the minimum load amount is $5) and then register it online. The cards don’t expire, and in theory that free quad venti breve raspberry mocha could keep you from spending what…like $6?