<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080211-starbucks-forget-t-mobile-get-free-wifi-with-att.html>
At Starbucks, T-Mobile is out and AT&T is in, at least when it comes
to WiFi. AT&T and Starbucks announced their new partnership this
morning, saying that the carrier plans to offer a variety of service
offerings at 7,000 Starbucks locations in the US. Best of all, many
customers will be able to access the service for free (as in beer),
with paid offerings as low as $3.99 for two hours of use.
AT&T says that, beginning this spring, anyone who uses a Starbucks
Card (a prepaid gift card, like one you would give to a friend) will
be able to get up to two hours of free WiFi service per day at any
Starbucks location with WiFi service. Better yet, if you're an AT&T
broadband or U-verse subscriber, you'll be able to use unlimited WiFi
at Starbucks for free. For everyone else, paid service will begin at
$3.99 per two-hour session, and monthly membership will go for $19.99
per month. Comparatively, T-Mobile's offerings were limited to $9.99
per day and between $19.99 and $39.99 per month (depending on whether
you were also a T-Mobile wireless subscriber and are willing to sign
a contract to lock in a lower rate).
Unfortunately, AT&T wireless customers--such as the plethora of
iPhone owners who frequent Starbucks--don't have any special access
as of yet. "This offer is for AT&T broadband customers who can access
WiFi in the stores over a WiFi-enabled device. [iPhone users] who are
not broadband subscribers can't access for free at this time," AT&T
spokesperson Brad Mays told Ars, although the company says that it
plans to expand its Starbucks benefits to those subscribers "soon."
The move is surprising, given how strong a relationship Starbucks
appeared to have with T-Mobile in the past. In September, Apple
announced a partnership with Starbucks and T-Mobile that would allow
iPhone and iPod touch owners to hop on T-Mobile's HotSpots for free
in order to access the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. (Mays told us that
the iTunes Wi-Fi Store partnership and rollout would continue under
AT&T's WiFi service.) And T-Mobile has used its partnership with
Starbucks to market some of its own services--namely its
newly-launched UMA (cell-to-WiFi) service called HotSpots@Home.
Customers with supported phones could switch between the cell network
and WiFi HotSpots to save on minutes and a get better signal.
Starbucks and AT&T do, however, acknowledge that there were many
loyal T-Mobile HotSpot customers, and they are offering a special
deal to those who subscribe to T-Mobile's service. "T-Mobile HotSpot
customers will be able to continue to access WiFi services at no
additional cost, through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile,"
Starbucks said in a statement. So if you pay for HotSpot coverage on
your T-Mobile plan (particularly for the aforementioned UMA service),
you should still be able to continue using it as usual on the new
Starbucks network.
[MORE]
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Best regards, FAQ FOR AT&T/CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/AT&T_Wireless_FAQ>
NEWS: Starbucks: Forget T-Mobile, get (free) WiFi with AT&T 
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