Starbucks announced today that it will turn on Wi-Fi for free today. Anybody could have two hours of free internet access now at Starbucks provided that they buy the Starbucks Card for $5 and register for the Starbucks Reward Card program. The Starbucks could be reloaded anytime.

Starbucks provided internet access to its customers a long time ago in corporation with T-Mobile. But this time around, the deal is made with AT&T internet provider. The deal was first announced last February but it just began to work now.

Two free hours are still not sufficient for regular Starbucks customers. Still they can search for hotspots in the area to get more hours of free internet access. Customers can now enjoy surfing the internet, making some fast blog posts or checking their e-mail.

The new move is expected to increase the number of laptop couch surfers at Starbucks more than ever before. There are questions about whether this will drive people away. Network congestion is also more likely to occur now since there are more people accessing on the Wi-Fi network. This could be more annoying to business users who might have some urgent work to do online.

Source: washingtonpost.com