SEATTLE — Starbucks Corp. and AT&T Inc. will start offering a mix of free and paid wireless Internet service in most of the international coffee retailer’s U.S. shops beginning this spring.
The move ends a six-year partnership with T-Mobile, which did not include free Wi-Fi and charged higher fees than AT&T will.
Starbucks said Monday it will give customers who use a Starbucks card two hours of free wireless access per day. Additional time 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.
“We’re very excited about what we’re doing together to align ourselves with what consumers want,” said Rick Welday, a chief marketing officer for AT&T’s consumer business.
Current T-Mobile HotSpot customers, who pay $6 per hourlong session, $9.99 for a day pass and $39.99 a month for unlimited access, will get Wi-Fi access at no extra charge through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile.
Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks’ chief technology officer, wouldn’t disclose how many customers use the T-Mobile service in Starbucks stores, but said he expects many more will use the new service. Starbucks will begin the service this spring and aims to offer it in its more than 7,000 company-operated U.S. stores by year’s end.
Robert Toomey, an analyst with E.K. Riley Investments, called the move “a good first step” for a company that has seen its traffic into U.S. stores decline for two consecutive quarters.
Starbucks is wise to link the new Wi-Fi service to its purchase card, which tens of millions of people use to buy their mochas and lattes, he said.
“I think it’s a double positive for both product sales and traffic,” Toomey said.
AT&T, the nation’s largest telecommunication company, has powered the network service Starbucks uses to run its cash registers and other computer systems for years.
“Starbucks was at a place where we were evaluating who our right go-forward partners should be, and as we looked at who could provide that in the best possible way, AT&T continuously came back to the front,” he said.
The switch dealt a blow to T-Mobile, which has nearly 8,900 wireless hotspots in the U.S., most of them in the coffee company’s stores. T-Mobile also offers its subscription wireless service in Borders Books and Music stores, FedEx Kinko’s stores, various hotels and airports.
T-Mobile USA, headquartered in Bellevue, did not immediately return calls for comment.
Last month, AT&T announced plans to make its 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots free to nearly all of its broadband Internet customers, expanding access to those with a lower tier of high-speed Internet. This increased to 12 million the number of broadband customers who can use the hotspots for free. Previously, only AT&T’s premium broadband subscribers had free access.
“Here we are with the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network,” said Welday. “Consumer trends are clearly pointing toward an increased need and desire to access broadband outside the home and office — what a terrific opportunity.”
The companies did not disclose financial terms of their deal.
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