Strangely, there has been a mega-shift in the world of coffee shops, and no one is making a big notice of it, at least not that I can tell. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to make the announcement here. If you are the press and would like to interview me on the matter, talk to my people.
So, here it is: Starbucks in the US now has “FREE” internet access. I’ve put the word ‘free’ in quotation marks, because there are some conditions, but they are conditions that for me are no bother. This is a great boon for those of us who like to be able to work on the go.
Up until very recently, you could only access the web at a Starbucks if you were a T-Mobile subscriber. Now, under certain conditions, you can gain free access through ATT. The only requirement is that you buy something at least once every thirty days, and then your access time is limited to two-hours each day. Those conditions are no barrier to me.
Interested? Here is what you need to do:
1) Purchase a Starbucks card at a Starbucks or on-line. This is like a gift card you give to yourself. You load it up with $10 or $20 or whatever. Pretty easy to do.
2) Use this card every time you purchase something at Starbucks. There are a lot of perks to encourage this. If you use the card, you get free refills on coffee, and free syrups and shots and the like. It is worth it for me to have the card apart from the wifi access.
3) Register your card on-line. When you do this, you will see some information regarding signing up for WiFi. Do this. It is all free.
4) Then, at Starbucks, log on to the ATTWifi network, and open up your browser. You will be taken to an ATT login page where you enter your user name and password, and you are in.
All you need to do is buy a cup of coffee once/month and you are good to go. I’ve not tested the two hour limit yet. I’m not sure if I’ll get booted off, or what. But the two hours is enough for me to get a lot done between meetings or while I wait to pick up my daughter from work or the gym.
What is amazing is that Starbucks is not advertising this yet. They are in the stores pushing the cards, but in their promo for the cards, they are saying nothing about WiFi. But I can tell you that it works. Yeah!
TulipGirl
Cool! Honestly, one of the draws to my previous coffee joint (now Bella in Sarasota) was the free wifi. I took all my online exams there. (Less distracting than home.)
Randy Greenwald
I’m not sure two hours would enable you to take your exams at Starbucks! Stumbled across a Chik-fil-A in Atlanta that offered free wifi. I’m now hoping the Creekwood CFA will pick up on that idea!And, yes, isn’t it funny how a public place with dozens of customers can be less distracting than our own living room couch!