OK, so Starbucks started their partnership with AT&T to provide free wireless Internet in Starbucks stores nationwide.  The rules for getting this free wireless access are somewhat complicated.  It all depends on…well, a number of different things.  There is a giant FAQ if you’re interested in all the details.

But essentially it boils down to this:

  • If you purchase a Starbucks card with a minimum balance of $5, and sign up for an account through Starbucks and (I think) and AT&T Wi-Fi access account, you can have up to 2 hours of wireless coverage per day at a single location.
  • This will last for a month, at which point you have to use your Starbucks card again in order to continue the service for another month.

 -or-

  • If you have a qualifying AT&T High Speed Internet, U-Verse, or Wireless account which includes the AT&T Wi-Fi Basic Service, you can get the wireless service without purchasing and using a Starbucks card.

If you don’t want to buy a Starbucks card and you don’t have AT&T service, you can purchase a 2-hour block for $3.99.  Current subscribers to the Starbucks/T-mobile deal will continue to have their same access.

Also, the service isn’t entirely free, as you have to give up some of your personal details to AT&T and Starbucks, and if you’re using the non-AT&T-subscriber method, you’re subject to up to four emails a year from AT&T.  Which isn’t much admittedly, but most coffee shops I go to don’t even ask me for my name to get wireless, unless they need to write it on my cup.

So on the one hand, having a two-hour limit is nice to keep customers moving through the store, it still is a number of hoops to jump through, and allows Starbucks to monetize on your Internet usage.  I’ll likely still go to my local shop down the street when I’m looking for a place to work on my laptop for an hour or two, knowing that I won’t have to worry about where my Starbucks card is, if I’ve used it in the last 30 days, etc. etc.


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