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Starbucks: Free Wi-Fi at 6,700 US sites

rdowns

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Original poster
Jul 11, 2003
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CHICAGO – Starbucks Corp. will begin offering unlimited free wireless Internet access at all company-operated U.S. locations starting July 1, part of an ongoing effort to bring more customers in the door.

The Wi-Fi access, which will eventually include a new network of news and entertainment content exclusively for customers, comes as Starbucks works to take business back from rivals like McDonald's Corp. and independent cafes that have long offered free Internet.

The cafe chain, which recorded its first quarterly increase in customers in 13 quarters earlier this year, had previously offered two free hours of Web access each day to registered customers.

On average, laptop users spend about an hour using the wireless Internet in Starbucks stores while mobile phone users who can use Wi-Fi spend about 15 minutes on the network.

After the two-hour window, consumers at the Seattle chain were charged $3.99 for two additional hours.

Officials said Monday that access will continue to be offered through AT&T. But it won't require a Starbucks loyalty card, according to the announcement Monday by CEO Howard Schultz, who spoke at a conference in New York.
The move comes six months after Starbucks' competitor McDonald's Corp. began offering free Wi-Fi at 11,500 U.S. locations.

The two companies have sparred in recent years at McDonald's revamped its coffee and rolled out a successful McCafe line offering everything from drip coffee and lattes to cappuccinos to icy coffee drinks.

Along the way, Starbucks struggled as it was hit by the recession and overwhelmed by its own rapid expansion.

As business soured, it brought back Schultz, who helped build the company, to lead the day-to-day operations. And it shut hundreds of locations and laid off thousands of workers to scale back its spending.

Also Monday, Starbucks said customers will get free access to certain online content through its Wi-Fi this fall. Called the Starbucks Digital Network, the program is a partnership with Yahoo that will give Starbucks Web surfers free access to paid sites like the Wall Street Journal, along with exclusive content and free downloads from other organizations such as Apple Inc.'s iTunes, The New York Times, Patch, USA Today and Zagat.

Starbucks shares climbed 41 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $27.56 in midday trading Monday.
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That's why you should ONLY go there of the overpriced iced tea's and stale sandwiches with a smile. :D
 
This will make me spend $5 bucks on a cup of coffee sub par coffee that is too hot rather than 25¢ to make it myself with better beans, the strength I like, at a reasonable temperature with all the ingredients I want.:rolleyes:
 
Starbucks is good in a pinch but the wifi there has been free to me for years due to have an ATT internet account. The thing I hated about those things is how big of a pain in the ass it is to log into the system and allow me to use it. Normally more trouble than it was worth. I would just get my coffee and go.

I know with my blackberry which is with AT&T it logs right into star bucks wifi but with my iPod touch it was requiring a log in. That is just a month or so ago.
 
Thank god! I'm so sick of answering the "how do you connect to the wifi" or "do you have wifi" questions! The only good thing is when someone asks and is rude. We tell them they have to call AT&T since its AT&T wifi, I've done that more than once:D
 
I've always had free WiFi at Starbucks in Canada and the US. Just take one of their free customer cards, register the card at the Starbucks website (which anyone has automatic access to if they're inside a Starbucks), and use the card number at the back. You only need to do it once and keep the card. It's fine, since it's free and it's internet.

They've been offering free internet for ages. Now it's just easier to access if/when someone is too confused, too busy, or too lazy.

There's no downside to this story at all for anyone who was already willing to go to Starbucks, so no need to complain. ;)


Aaaaanyway, McDonalds and McCafe in Australia offers free WiFi at every single one of their restaurants in the country, and it has saved my ass when my mobile phone signal didn't work (inland Australia), and I needed to email someone or find out info. Starbucks' coffee is around equal to the McCafé, IMO.
 
Abstract said:
There's no downside to this story at all for anyone who was already willing to go to Starbucks, so no need to complain. ;)
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I prefer to spin what I'm doing as taking a pot-shot. :)

Starbucks deserves praise at a minimum for the fact that, so far, this time around, they've managed to make a decision regarding their WiFi program, roll it out to their executives so that everyone is on the same page, and release a single press release without having to make revocations and denials and claim that information was incorrectly leaked six or seven times. :)

Also in fairness, while their brewed coffee is crap, and their sweets are absurdly caloric considering how little they satiate the appetite, their non-fat, no-whip peppermint mochas are the perfect part of every Christmas season, down to the fun, holiday-ey red & green cups. :)
 
I've never used the Wifi at Starbucks, but I'm a long time Starbucks card holder so I've been told it would be free anyway.
 
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