Google to Offer FREE Wi-Fi at all Starbucks

[Archiee]

Google announces plans to roll out faster, free Wi-Fi connections to all Starbucks stores in the United States over the next 18 months with speeds “up to 10x faster than before.”

The Net has become as vital to our lives as other utilities like electricity and running water. It’s what we use to plan our day, stay connected with family and friends, stay informed, and a whole slew of important activities that we sometimes take for granted. Having said this, a fast and reliable connection is a constant cause for concern, and try as we may, it’s not always feasible.

Enter Google.

Google is continually doing its best to make sure we’re online more frequently to increase advertising revenue, and it’s realized the easiest way is to directly offer consumers cheap, fast Internet connections.

After forays in Mountain View(Wi-Fi) and Kansas City(Google Fiber) with plans for Austin(Google Fiber) and Provo(Google Fiber), Google has announced that it’s rolling out FREE – yes FREE – Wi-Fi service to all Starbucks locations in the United States!

“Coffee shop + Internet–it’s a pairing that many of us have come to rely on. WiFi access makes work time, downtime, travel time and lots of in-between times more enjoyable and productive. That’s why we’re teaming up with Starbucks to bring faster, free WiFi connections to all 7,000 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States over the next 18 months. When your local Starbucks WiFi network goes Google, you’ll be able to surf the web at speeds up to 10x faster than before. If you’re in a Google Fiber city, we’re hoping to get you a connection that’s up to 100x faster,” reads a press release.”

I love the part about speeds being up to 10x faster, I can only imagine the throngs of people that will be lining up outside Starbucks to get a seat with blazing fast connection speeds.

Google sees the effort as a continuation of plans to help the Internet “grow stronger” and make access cheaper, faster, and more accessible.

“The free Internet connection at Starbucks has become an important part of many communities over the years, such as in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, or for students without Internet at home who do their homework at Starbucks,” adds the company.

It says it plans to begin rolling out the new network beginning this August.

So how will you know when it’s arrived at your local Starbucks? When you see the “Google Starbucks” SSID appear in your Wi-Fi login screen.

Stay tuned.

[godfader4]

thanks