T-Mobile loses Starbucks to AT&T

Starbucks Corporation today announced a new comprehensive communications agreement with AT&T that will enhance the enterprise networking capabilities for Starbucks by streamlining business operations and enhancing the customer experience. With this announcement, AT&T, which has provided Starbucks with network connectivity for point of sale and other store operating systems for more than 10 years, will offer consumer Wi-Fi service in more than 7,000 Starbucks locations in the U.S. beginning in spring of 2008.

“Now more than ever, Starbucks is focused on the in-store experience for our customers,” said Chris Bruzzo, chief technology officer, Starbucks. “As we continue to build our technology offerings in ways that both enhance and expand the Starbucks Experience for our customers, we made a strategic decision to expand our existing relationship with our longtime technology partner AT&T to include consumer Wi-Fi.”

In recognition of the many T-Mobile customers who enjoy visiting Starbucks, the Company is also announcing that T-Mobile HotSpot customers will be able to continue to access Wi-Fi services at no additional cost, through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile.

“As we continue to build upon our digital entertainment platform, our expanded partnership with AT&T will permit us to deliver a compelling in-store entertainment experience for Starbucks customers as well as AT&T’s customers,” said Ken Lombard, president, Starbucks Entertainment.

“We are committed to connecting people to their worlds wherever they live and work,” said Rick Welday, AT&T’s Chief Marketing Officer—Consumer. “For our more than 120 million customers, this is just another way we deliver their world of communications and entertainment – all from the comfort of Starbucks.”

Customer Wi-Fi services from AT&T will be rolled-out to Starbucks locations in the U.S. on a market-by-market basis beginning in the spring of 2008. Starbucks will work with AT&T to create a range of compelling Wi-Fi pricing structures for Starbucks and AT&T customers.

The initiative further expands the AT&T Wi-Fi network, already the largest in the United States, to more than 17,000 U.S. hot spots and more than 70,000 globally.

Beginning this spring, Starbucks Card holders can enjoy up to two hours of free Wi-Fi service per day at Starbucks locations offering Wi-Fi access, while more than 12 million qualifying AT&T broadband and AT&T U-verseSM Internet customers will have unlimited free access to the Wi-Fi service. In addition, more than 5 million of AT&T's remote access services business customers will be able to access Wi-Fi service at Starbucks locations. AT&T will soon extend the benefits of Wi-Fi at Starbucks to its wireless customers.

As an added benefit for the more than 100,000 Starbucks partners in the U.S., all Starbucks partners will receive free AT&T Wi-Fi accounts allowing them to use the network in Starbucks company-operated locations offering Wi-Fi access.