Starbucks Corp and AT&T Inc will start offering a mix of free and paid wireless Internet service in most of the global coffee retailer's US shops beginning this spring.
The move ended a six-year Starbucks partnership with T-Mobile, which did not include free Wi-Fi and charged higher fees than AT&T will.z
Starbucks said it will give customers who use a Starbucks purchase card two hours of free wireless access per day.
More time than that will cost US$3.99 for a two-hour session. Monthly memberships will cost US$19.99 and include access to any of AT&T's 70,000 hotspots worldwide.
Nearly all of AT&T's broadband Internet customers, about 12 million, will automatically have unlimited free Wi-Fi access at Starbucks, the companies said.
The deal boosts the number of AT&T hotspots in the US to 17,000 -- the most in the nation.
"We're very excited about what we're doing together to align ourselves with what consumers want," said Rick Welday, a chief marketing officer for AT&T's consumer business.
Starbucks' switch to AT&T is a big blow for T-Mobile, which has nearly 8,900 wireless hotspots in the US, most of them in the coffee company's stores. T-Mobile also offers its subscription wireless service in Borders Books and Music stores, FedEx Kinko's stores, various hotels, airports and airline clubs.
In a statement on Monday, Joe Sims, T-Mobile USA's vice president and general manager of broadband products and services, said the company's customers "will continue to benefit from our commitment to remain the innovation leader for consumer Wi-Fi."
T-Mobile HotSpot customers -- who pay US$6 per one-hour-session, US$9.99 for a day pass or up to US$39.99 a month for unlimited access -- will get Wi-Fi access at no extra charge under a roaming agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile.
T-Mobile USA said the roaming agreement would last at least five years.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS