Starting this week, coffee hounds can get a shot of high-speed Internet along
with their cappuccinos at Starbucks Corp. outlets in Southern California.
In a joint venture with Deutsche Telekom AG subsidiary T-Mobile
International, the coffee chain is offering customers a Wi-Fi (wireless
local-area network) broadband wireless Internet link.
Dubbed 'T-Mobile HotSpot,' the service allows customers to check electronic
mail, surf the Web and watch streaming media via laptop computers or Pocket PCs
equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 Ethernet cards. Customers must sign up for T-Mobile
HotSpot service to access the network.
'Mobile professionals across the globe have been waiting for just such an
offering: high-speed wireless Internet access in a familiar and widely available
location that keeps them connected while on the road or between the home and
office,' said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and chief global strategist, in
a release.
'It's the right service offered in the right environment,' he
added.
