Starbucks revealed Wednesday a partnership with Google to replace AT&T as the company's Wi-Fi provider in the United States. The deal will reportedly increase speeds tenfold over the next eighteen months as it rolls out to approximately 7,000 locations across the country. Starbucks didn't completely shut AT&T out, though. A spokesperson named Linda Mills said the decision was made after reviewing numerous proposals from various interested parties. AT&T spokesperson Mike Siegel noted that his company's proposal also offered to increase speeds by ten times what they are now. "Starbucks continues to be an important partner for us, and we continue to provide them with a variety of services over AT&T's advanced network," says Siegel. The network provider accepts Starbucks' decision must have been based on criteria besides overall connectivity speed.
"This is obviously an important milestone in our relationship with Google. We do hope this one step amongst many that we can continue to build upon what's already a great partnership with Google," says Starbucks Chief Digital Officer Adam Brotman ( CNET ).
Starbucks hopes the increased speeds will meet the demand of today's internet-using patrons, who generally require more powerful connections to stream online videos, etc.
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