Starbucks ’ decisiveness to solicit AT&T to provide wireless hotspots at its retail outlets could pave the way for an flourish , potentially free net for exploiter of the iPhone and possibly the iPod touch .
Two minute of free Robert William Service will also be usable each Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to anyone possess an trigger Starbucks Card , a stored - value swipe card used for purchase , even one corrupt on the maculation , according to a Starbucks spokesperson . As little as a single purchase each month of any amount using the card is needed to keep the card active for Wi - Fi use , as Starbucks intends this as a wages to regular customers . The minimum value to load on a card is $ 5 .
There ’s no Word of God yet on whether iPhone users will get free access to Starbucks ’s web ; so far , AT&T has n’t made any limited arrangement with its current step for its wandering telephone set customers . Joe Izbrand , a spokesman for AT&T , enunciate , “ We do n’t have any declaration to make on this at this meter . I think you may gestate us to continue to pass judgment all the selection to bring swell access and value to our customers . ”
One path in which Starbucks and the eternal rest of AT&T ’s net could be vastly improved for iPhone and iPod hint owners would be to simplify the login . Like most hotspot connection , Apple mobile proprietor have to boringly enter login information through the build - in Safari web browser ; this information is n’t cached or stored .
With a more incorporated electronic web , an iPhone or iPod touch could be unambiguously name and lumber in with no extra movement . Apple , Starbucks , and ostensibly T - Mobile already deploy this in some fashion for the iTunes Wi - Fi Music Store , which is useable without paying connection fees at Starbucks placement in select U.S. cities .
One complicate factor is for the person who carries multiple Wi - Fi - enabled devices , like a MacBook and an iPhone . While many web prohibit simultaneous logins using the same account , a Starbucks representative confirmed that multiple devices , within reason , could share the same account .
AT&T ’s current Wi - Fi meshwork step comprise nearly 10,000 position , about 8,500 of which are McDonald ’s eating place the troupe resells access to . The others include Barnes & Noble bookstores , and a phone number of little chains , as well as a few airports . Starbucks ’ modulation from T - Mobile to AT&T will lead off in 2nd quarter of 2008 and be completed by twelvemonth ’s end . AT&T employs Wayport , a Wi - Fi and cable broadband service supplier established in the late 1990s , to build and work its connection locations . AT&T resells about 1,000 locations directly operated by Wayport ; Wayport is also McDonald ’s lineal partner for Wi - Fi .
AT&T ’s pricing is in stark contrast to the current Starbucks provider , T - Mobile , which charges $ 6 per hr or $ 10 a day for walk - up service ; $ 20 per month to its interpreter contributor as an impart - on design ; and $ 30 to $ 40 per month for others , depending on the term of commitment . T - Mobile will continue to operate the rest of its meshwork of roughly 2,000 locations , which admit airline club lounges for American , Delta , United , and US Airways ; full airports , such as San Francisco and Los Angeles ; FedEx Kinko ’s centers ; and a few hotel mountain range .
T - Mobile was n’t Starbucks ’s first partner ; an former Wi - Fi house , MobileStar , to begin with signed Starbucks to a contract in 2001 . MobileStar filed for bankruptcy after the dotcom crash dried up venture cap , and T - Mobile ( then known as VoiceStream ) acquired its assets and the Starbucks mickle in 2002 .
[ Glenn Fleishman drop a line daily about wireless networking at his siteWi - Fi Networking News . ]
