Starbucks Says Goodbye To T-Mobile, Hello to AT&T For WiFi

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/02/att-bumps-out-t.html">http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/02/att-bumps-out-t.html</a><br /><br /><i>"There's a new Wi-Fi provider coming to your local Starbucks, and this one is offering some of its services for free. Outmaneuvering its smaller rival T-Mobile, AT&amp;T announced on Monday a new partnership with the coffee giant to start offering its own brand of Wi-Fi services this spring. Once the rollout is complete, those who use Starbucks Cards will also be able to browse for up to two hours free at 7,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S, the wireless provider said. Additionally, coffee drinkers without a Starbucks Card can purchase tiered access to the AT&amp;T Wi-Fi network at Starbucks for $4 for two hours. Monthly membership will also be offered at $20 per month, compared to T-Mobile's current rates of $6 an hour, $10 a day, and $30 per month."</i><br /><br />Wow, except for Starbucks, I don't know of any consistent location where T-Mobile hotspots work. This can't be good for T-Mobile's Hotspot program overall.

[JamesM]

Hi Ed,
Doesn't look like T-Mo is getting the boot:

http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2008/02/starbucks-adds.html

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=826 (look about halfway down)

-James

[Ed Hansberry]

Hi Ed,
Doesn't look like T-Mo is getting the boot:

http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2008/02/starbucks-adds.html

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=826 (look about halfway down)

That just says existing T-Mo customers will continue to be able to access WiFi through AT&amp;T through a separate agreement between Starbucks and the carriers. Looks transitional to me and if the AT&amp;T agreement lasts, I doubt Starbucks would continue to pay T-Mo whatever this agreement costs in 6 months to a year.

It is good for those T-Mo users that signed up for the service though. This way, they won't be abruptly cut off.

[JamesM]

http://gigaom.com/2008/02/11/starbucks-breaks-up-with-t-mobile-hooks-up-with-att/

Might be transitional, but this says "years to come". We'll see.

[Eriq Cook]

I use the T-Mo hotspot service @ starbucks at least 1-2 hours per week. I went ahead and signed up for the $29.99 "total internet" package some time ago. It's convenience having the service bundled into my T-mobile package, but I antitipate within 6 months having to separate these charges and pay AT&amp;T separately for access.

[amg]

This could be extremely interesting for AT&amp;T cell customers... I currently have a PDA plan with my Tilt where I pay $60 - this includes all on-device stuff and legitimate tethering. One of the perks of that plan (as well as the $60 laptop only plans sold with the PC cards) is that it also includes unlimited access to AT&amp;T's WiFi sites (possibly not all - but I know that their airport sites are generally included, as well as many bookstores). I wonder if the Starbucks sites will be included in the same plan.

[hamishmacdonald]

The price for accessing T-Mobile hotspots in Starbucks here in the UK is ludicrous. The whole "free WiFi as enticement to stay and keep buying pricey coffees" notion seems to have only been picked up by little independents, at least from my experience of living in Edinburgh and visiting Toronto. The major chains are still trotting out these partnership deals which are just awful: you pay a lot for the food and drink, and you pay a lot to surf. It's the equivalent of the old AOL-disks: okay, it'll be straightforward, but it's gonna cost you.

Now that I've got 3G access with my pocketputer (and HSDPA in bigger cities), I don't need to pay a swindling fee for limited access or trek around town to find a free hotspot, so I'm wondering how much future there is in this business model.

The whole time I was in Toronto over December, I bypassed the horrible local plans and used my Orange UK account for voice and data, figuring I'd just eat the bill when I got back. When my statements came in, I found I didn't actually pay that much, and the ease of it made it worthwhile. And it was a joy to give Rogers the finger, with all their tricks, traps, and impossibilities (e.g. no data plans available at all on Pay-as-You-Go).

So I see this as the way forward: one SIM card, access anywhere in the world, with data prices forced to become more reasonable by increased competition between telcos and Internet alternatives (like VOIP).

I may not have a jetpack, but having data access anywhere has a real "I live in the future!" feel to it.

[schmenge]

This could be extremely interesting for AT&amp;T cell customers... I currently have a PDA plan with my Tilt where I pay $60 - this includes all on-device stuff and legitimate tethering. One of the perks of that plan (as well as the $60 laptop only plans sold with the PC cards) is that it also includes unlimited access to AT&amp;T's WiFi sites (possibly not all - but I know that their airport sites are generally included, as well as many bookstores). I wonder if the Starbucks sites will be included in the same plan.

McDonald's with wi-fi are also part of the AT&amp;T network so if your plan includes access to thier sites/partners you can probably get it there as well.

[saljamex]

In México we browse in Starbuck´s for free.