Starbucks' Free WiFi May Bring the End of Pay-to-Surf
In case you haven't heard, Starbucks turned on free, one-click WiFi for all customers, starting yesterday. This is a big deal.
Obviously, it's been a long time coming. Starbucks has been criticized over and over for the cumbersome system they used previously, forcing users to have an account and pay to surf the Web in their stores. Given how well known Starbucks is for their savvy social media presence, I've always wondered why it took them this long to finally make it free.
That said, this change has the potential to make big waves in technology and the accessibility of the Internet, so I suppose it's not a decision to be taken lightly. There's a few things I think we can expect to see from this.
First, say goodbye to the days of pay-as-you-go Internet. Now that Starbucks has free WiFi, why would you choose a different place that, *gasp*, makes you pay for it? Starbucks is more convenient, still has decent coffee, and lets you surf for free. Expect every coffee shop you know, as well as probably airports, restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. to follow suit soon.
You can say goodbye to surfing on 3G pretty soon, too. Starbucks stores are becoming an unavoidable presence in most major cities, and with over 11,000 stores in the U.S. alone you could put one Starbucks every mile around the entire perimeter of the country, with a couple thousand left to spare.
As most of us know, WiFi is rarely contained within physical walls. As Starbucks continue to proliferate and city governments begin investing in free public WiFi (as some are already doing), we're rapidly approaching a point where keeping WiFi on all the time won't seem like such a bad idea.
Finally, we can start to cross the digital divide. By no means is Starbucks going to democratize the world and make everything fair and accessible (there's still the participation gap to combat), but free, easily accessible WiFi is a leap towards getting everyone connected on an equal level.
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