Starbucks reaches deal with Google to boost store Wi-Fi speeds, upgrade digital network

July 31, 2013 at 2:27PM

SEATTLE — Starbucks says it's reached a deal to partner with Google that will allow it to offer its customers dramatically faster Wi-Fi service.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Starting in August, new U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores will begin to receive up to 10 times faster network and Wi-Fi speeds. And over the next 18 months, Starbucks will convert more than 7,000 U.S. stores to the upgraded service.

Starbucks says the improvements will help ensure that its customers can easily access the internet.

Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. and Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc. also plan to work together to co-develop the next generation of Starbucks' digital network.

Level 3 Communications, a telecommunications company, will upgrade existing Wi-Fi devices and manage connectivity in more than 7,000 company-owned stores.

about the writer

about the writer

More from No Section

See More
FILE -- A rent deposit slot at an apartment complex in Tucker, Ga., on July 21, 2020. As an eviction crisis has seemed increasingly likely this summer, everyone in the housing market has made the same plea to Washington: Send money — lots of it — that would keep renters in their homes and landlords afloat. (Melissa Golden/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT58
Melissa Golden/The New York Times

It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.