Starbucks began offering its customers free wifi several years ago. Now it looks like the coffee giant must have been listening when those customers complained that the connections were just too slow.
The company just announced that it’s teaming up with Google to upgrade wifi speeds in more than 7,000 stores across the United States. From our point of view, this is a really big deal because it’s another way to bring fast affordable internet to millions of Americans who can’t afford to pay steep monthly fees for similar service.
The plan calls for every new Starbucks store to offer wifi speeds up to 10 times faster than what they’re currently offering. They will also roll out upgraded connections in their existing stores.
Adam Brotman, Chief Digital Officer for Starbucks, says the company’s stores will upgrade data speeds with a variety of solutions depending on what’s most appropriate for each store’s customers.
“We really focus on how this enhances the customer experience and we believe if we continue to focus on that, good things will come to our business downstream,” Brotman told Mashable. “We do believe that all the things we do to enhance the in-store experience enhance sales.”
Google, which is rolling out its own high speed wifi networks in test markets around the country, will work with Starbucks to enhance the customers wifi.
Everyone at CheapInternet.com knows that one of our staff writers likes to hone her stories while sipping her favorite coffee drink (a low fat half-caf double shot cappucino) at the Starbucks store just down the street from our offices.
If this new high speed wifi will get her back to the office a few minutes sooner, we’re all for it. And if it will bring high speed broadband service to millions of Americans who don’t work for us, we’re all for that, too.
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