Starbucks UK coffeehouses to get wireless broadband from BT

A new agreement has been signed recently by telecoms giant BT to provide Wi-Fi broadband access to all Starbucks coffee house throughout the country and in Ireland, which will allow customers of BT Openzone to access the net from any of these locations for a small fee.

Internet access will soon be available from any of the 650 Starbucks coffeehouses throughout Ireland and the UK with the recent signing of a new relationship between Starbucks and BT Openzone. The deployment of the service will start this week with the end of the summer given as the date for completion.

Access to the internet, making VoIP calls and sending and receiving emails will all be available at Starbucks for customers of BT broadband including BT Openzone users and users with inclusive BT FON Wi-Fi (the free sharing of Wi-Fi between users) minutes.

The CEO of BT Openzone, Chris Bruce said “Starbucks is the perfect place to work or catch up over email. Use of our Wi-Fi doubled last year and coffee shops are increasingly popular as a third place to work or log on to the internet. We’re constantly looking to boost the choice of places to connect – where people want it. The location of Starbucks stores in the high street and travel hubs is helping to extend the reach of Wi-Fi to customers.”

Through a number of agreements that have been made with other global network operators BT also offers Wi-Fi access to over 150 000 locations through the UK and in Ireland, which includes 12 city centres and over 50 000 sites overseas.

Access to the internet using Wi-Fi from BT Openzone is charged at 15p per minute plus VAT, although a number of bulk usage vouchers like £5 per month for 500 minutes offer much better value for money.