Starbucks Starts Wi-Fi Debates, Breakfast Battles Heat Up
February 15th, 2008 (8:57am) Jason Harris 7 Comments
All the news this week about Starbucks changing wi-fi service providers and offering anyone with a Starbucks Card two free hours of wi-fi access has started a fresh dialogue surrounding wireless Internet access. That is, your local independent coffee houses are jumping up and down saying, “Hey! The wi-fi is free (and always has been) over here!”
As you may know, independent coffee shops have long offered wi-fi as an attractant for business people, road warriors, and web workers to get them in the door. For the longest time, many coffee drinkers and wi-fi seekers chose the independent houses because getting online used to cost $6-$10 an hour at Starbucks.
