America 
 
 Starbucks To Offer Unlimited Free Wi-Fi At All U.S. Stores 
 
 Ted S. Warren / AP 
 
 There's big Starbucks news today that may help customers more easily swallow those venti lattes which can cost more than $5 in some places — the chain is going to offer unlimited free Wi-Fi at all its U.S. locations starting July 1. An excerpt from Starbucks' news release on the changes: 
 
 Building on the Wi-Fi update, (Starbucks CEO Howard) Schultz also revealed plans for a new online customer experience called the Starbucks Digital Network, in partnership with Yahoo!, which will debut later this fall. This online experience – available only in U.S. company operated Starbucks stores – will be unique in its content offerings, allowing customers free unrestricted access to various paid sites and services such as wsj.com, exclusive content and previews, free downloads, local community news and activities, on their laptops, tablets or smart phones.
– Starbucks will offer free unlimited Wi-Fi at its company-owned stores starting July 1. Battered by the recession and the successful challenge mounted by McDonald's, the coffee giant will also plug its customers into customized content—including free access to pay sites like the Wall Street Journal's, Frank James blogs for NPR. The goal is to draw users in and keep them around, notes the LA Times. Cue the privacy concerns: "Each customer must log in with a unique identifier, so Starbucks won’t only know where you are, but who you are, potentially allowing for targeted messaging to offset cost further," writes Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired. The real question, James notes, is how Starbucks "will keep some customers from parking at its store's tables from opening to closing time just so they can use free wireless connection."