Starbucks ditches AT&T for Google's Wi-Fi connection
Starbucks has set the coffee shop standard: a reliable menu and free Wi-Fi. The coffee company is now trying to make this combination a little bit better 鈥撀燼nd we鈥檙e not talking about a new pumpkin spice latte.
Starbucks and Google are partnering up to bring the coffee shop鈥檚 customers a faster Wi-Fi connection that will be, at minimum, 10 times faster than the current AT&T wireless connection, according to a 聽from Google Access general manager Kevin Lo. In Google Fiber cities such as Austin; Kansas City, Kan.; and Provo, Utah, Google promises that Internet will be 100 times faster than before.
The free Wi-Fi service will operate in all 7,000 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States within the next 18 months. Starbucks is not disclosing the financial terms of the transition in Wi-Fi providers.聽
Starbucks stores are currently connected with an AT&T T1 line that reaches data speeds of 1.5 megabits per second, says Linda Mills, a Starbucks spokeswoman. The Wi-Fi change is an attempt to anticipate future customer needs, and the switch to Google will increase Internet speeds, says Miller.聽
Google has also been sponsoring programs that offer free Wi-Fi in large cities. There is free Wi-Fi in a 10-block radius around Google鈥檚 office in New York and as well as the company鈥檚 headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. The company has also agreed to bring Wi-Fi to聽聽locations by spring 2014. 聽
Starbucks first started offering free AT&T Wi-Fi in 2008. Customers who used a prepaid Starbucks Card at least once a month had access to two consecutive hours per day of free Wi-Fi.聽
Google makes the majority of its revenue from advertising. In the second quarter of 2013, advertising made up 86 percent of Google's . Putting more people on the Internet, especially on the company's Wi-Fi connection, gives Google the opportunity to turn over more profits from advertisements: more exposure to ads, more profits for Google.聽
In an effort to keep customers and their wireless devices energized, Starbucks has also begun testing new wireless Wi-Fi charging stations at several stores in Boston. Customers simply lay their smart device on a Powermat surface in the store to begin recharging.聽
