As of Thursday July 1st, 2010 the option for accessing free, unlimited, Wi-Fi Internet across North America took a significant bump in ubiquity thanks to the equally ubiquitous coffeehouse chain, Starbucks.
- Starbucks announces free unlimited wifi
It used to be, if customers wanted access while sipping their piping hot Pike Place at SBX, they’d shell out $4 bucks (ouch!) for just two hours (what?) of access. To many patrons (slaves?) of the twin-tailed siren, this was a bit crazy considering every other coffeehouse in town offered free Wi-Fi access. For that matter, the library, the laundromat, McDonald’s and even the local hot dog stand offered free Wi-Fi. All things considered, you have to confess that Starbucks has really nice, clean, comfortable lobbies and the aroma of fresh rich coffee vs warm hot dog water and laundry detergent can’t really compete.
Just as clear water from a faucet and power from an electrical outlet flows; today fast, ‘free,’ reliable Internet access continues down the road on its journey to commoditization. Starbucks Wi-Fi, provided by AT&T, was one of the last paid vestibules to this increasingly common amenity. Thankfully, they’ve finally done away with paid Internet access and thrown open the Wi-Fi gates at over 12,000 locations in the United States and Canada.
So people can surf lolcats and tweet their “Double ristretto venti nonfat organic chocolate brownie frappucino extra hot with foam and whipped cream upside down double blended please” order (yes that’s exactly 140 characters of caffeinated awesomeness) but it can be so much more than that.
Think outside your cubicle. This is a refreshing change of scenery and a quick step away from the many distractions and interruptions of the office environment. What’s more, think quick fix business continuity on a shoe string! What if your office Internet connection is down or mind numbingly slow? On several occasions I’ve grabbed my laptop and made a beeline to a local java shop for better access (and coffee) and was able to continue to get my work done the way I like, in a caffeine fueled frenzy. Today, many office employees and knowledge workers of all types can easily enjoy complete access to everything they need to do their job from anywhere; the only requirement is a quality Internet connection.
Free Wi-Fi for everyone!
Laptops and netbooks are lighter, faster and more powerful than ever. Cloud computing and hosted solutions abound for many enterprise and business application needs. Combine these with the ever-increasing ubiquity of free, high speed wireless access and depending on how your business is setup, you could enjoy the same smart, flexible, mobile way of working, and that’s cool beans.
*Update: I tested the free Wi-Fi while remote working from a comfy leather arm chair at my local Starbucks and am happy to report the connection and speed were both solid.
Check the terms box, click connect and you're on.