Starbucks Free WiFi Access – T-Mobile Sues
December 10th, 2009
T-Mobile has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks Coffee which has been using their service as part of their free customer service. In efforts to boost numbers of patrons, Starbucks has been offering free WiFi access to all customers which brought in office workers in droves with the knowledge that they could still keep tabs on the office on their breaks. T-Mobile argues that they had a license agreement to provide WiFi access for all US branches of Starbucks without the addition of the free WiFi access offer, that has taxed the mobile provider heavily in terms of bandwidth.
The suit comes when T-Mobile learns that they would be replaced with provider AT&T at the end of the year when their service agreement with Starbucks expires. They are claiming that the free service for customers was not part of their service agreement but was restricted to office use only. What is to come out of the wranglings of the two companies is yet to be seen as they conduct negotiations and talks to resolve the issue.