Starbucks wakes up and smells the Wi-Fi

Starbucks and T-Mobile are expanding their UK Wi-Fi infrastructure by rolling out wireless broadband connectivity to a further 98 coffee shops.

The move, which brings the total number of 802.11b Wi-Fi enabled Starbucks outlets to 154 in 35 major towns and cities throughout Britain, has been prompted by a "strong customer response" to the original wireless partnership begun in June 2003.

This latest phase in the Wi-Fi rollout will see Starbucks stores in areas including Canterbury, Inverness, Lincoln and Reading being given access to the T-Mobile HotSpot service.

Jay Saw, UK HotSpot manager at T-Mobile, said in a statement: "The Starbucks alliance is key to T-Mobile's drive in delivering a comprehensive network of hotspots for our business customers in the most convenient locations."

Cathy Heseltine, marketing director at Starbucks (UK), added: "The 98 new T-Mobile HotSpots mean that even more Starbucks customers will have fast, convenient access to check their emails, surf the web or download files."