AT&T snags Starbucks Wi-Fi agreement: Deal pushes aside once-formidable deal with T-Mobile USA

Starbucks Corp. is trading its T-Mobile USA Inc. HotSpot service for AT&T Inc.’s Wi-Fi network in more than 7,000 company-owned coffee outlets. Companies said Wi-Fi services from AT&T will be rolled-out to U.S. Starbucks locations beginning this spring on a market-by-market basis.
While the municipal Wi-Fi market has languished of late, AT&T has been rather bullish on Wi-Fi for its customers. Just a few weeks ago, the company announced it would begin offering its 12 million broadband subscribers free access to its nationwide Wi-Fi network.
The new deal will also keep T-Mobile USA Inc.’s hotspot customers in the fold thanks to a separate agreement reached with AT&T that gives T-Mobile USA Hotspot customers continued access to Wi-Fi at Starbucks stores.
Starbucks Card holders will get two hours of free Wi-Fi service per visit while AT&T broadband and U-verse Internet customers will enjoy unlimited access as part of their monthly plan. Customers will also be able to purchase two hours of access for $4 or monthly membership at $20 per month, which would include access to any of AT&T’s 70,000 hotspots around the world.
“This is an expansion of our relationship with AT&T,” a Starbucks spokeswoman said. “We already had a partnership with AT&T that we have been using for enterprise service.”
AT&T has provided Starbucks network connectivity for point of sale and other store operating systems for more than a decade.
Indeed, it expands on other partnerships as well, albeit not purposefully. Apple Inc. recently made a deal with Starbucks to give iTouch and iPhone users access to browse through the iTunes music store on their device inside Starbucks locations. The iPhone is available exclusively though AT&T Mobility.