Starbucks coffee shops across the US have been offering free WiFi powered by AT&T since 2010. Over the next year and a half Starbucks will move from AT&T to Google — and Google says that means you’ll see internet connection speeds that are up to 10 times higher in most locations.
If you’re in a city where Google Fiber is available, speeds could be as much as 100 times faster.
While Google is a relative newcomer to the internet service provider space, the company has a vested interest in making sure folks get the best internet connections available. The easier it is for you to get online, the more likely you are to use Google’s products and services — and encounter Google advertisements. The company still makes most of its money through advertising.
Starbucks will start making the move from AT&T to Google at some of its 7,000 locations in the United States in August, and the transition is expected to be complete in every store within 18 months.
Too bad I go to Coffee Bean.
Related to WiFi, I hope more devices come out with dual band and more than 1 antenna. Even on 5 GHz, 1×1 antenna configurations aren’t very robust against intereference. Even short blips in WiFi can cause voice/video over IP (ie. Skype) and streaming content (Netflix and Amazon Video) to automatically drop to a lower quality. Even when the WiFi link becomes stable again shortly after, most software alogrithms will maintain the low quality stream for several minutes.
I wonder if people who bought the Chromecast with its 1×1 2.4 GHz WiFi setup are experiencing occasional hiccups in their streaming/mirroring tasks.
Hallelujah ! I am sitting in a Starbucks at this very moment and I am ready to tear the eyes out of my head because the WiFi is so sloooooooooooooow. (Please start with So Cal first Google/SBucks! I promise to buy Venti Foamy coffees every day from you.)