WebProNews

Tag: Google Wi-Fi

  • Starbucks Partners With Google For Faster Wi-Fi

    Starbucks Partners With Google For Faster Wi-Fi

    Starbucks recently made a deal with Google to offer their customers Wi-Fi connections that are considerably faster then they are today. Starbucks has been a long-time hang out spot and trendy temporary workspace for many around the world. However, those that choose this workspace option have been faced with limited connectivity speeds. From my personal experience in many of the different Starbucks stores, the current Wi-Fi seems to be noticeably unreliable and considerably slow. This change is going to most likely end up being a profitable business move for Starbucks to keep customers in their store longer which entices them to buy more coffee and food.

    The new Wi-Fi service will start to make its entrance to more than 7,000 of its Starbucks locations within the next 18 months. The transition to this service will begin this month. The Wi-Fi service has been said to enable customers to surf the internet 10 times faster than the current service. So, if you are looking to download that movie, while streaming audio and sending a massive Excel spread sheet to your boss, you are in luck! Starbucks improvements will impact their clientele greatly and give a much better experience to all who visit and use their Wi-Fi network. Students and remote business entrepreneurs all have reacted very positively about this change.

    So you are probably wondering. how do I know if my Starbucks has been upgraded? Kevin Lo, General Manager for Google Access says “We appreciate your patience if it’s still a little while before we get to your favorite Starbucks—you’ll know your new network is ready to go when you can log in to the ‘Google Starbucks’ SSID [service set identifier].”

    Starbucks has always been an innovative company so this change comes as no surprise. By teaming with Google to offer a higher speed Wi-Fi they are securing their place as not just a place to get coffee, but a place to hang out and stay a while. This puts them head and shoulders above their competition and reinforces them as an American staple.

  • Is Google Building The Next Generation Of Wireless Networks?

    Whenever Google experiments in something, the results are oftentimes pretty awesome. Google Glass, self-driving cars and Google Fiber are all examples of something that started out as an experiment and are now some of the most exciting tech being developed in our nation. Now it seems Google may be experimenting in something that definitely needs a shot of innovation – wireless networks.

    The Wall Street Journal reports that Google had recently submitted an application to the FCC for a license for an “experimental radio service.” The application covers the company’s headquarters in California.

    Now, this wouldn’t be too exciting except for the fact that the application specifically states Google will be using radio frequencies that most devices in use today can’t take advantage of. The frequencies come from licensed spectrum controlled by Clearwire Corp. This licensed spectrum is reportedly better than Wi-Fi when it comes to disseminating a signal across metropolitan areas.

    So, who’s going to be experimenting with this new wireless technology? The application states that the building currently housing the Google Fiber team will be the first place to be outfitted with the technology. The team there is already working to build the next generation land line network so it makes sense that they would be building the next generation wireless network as well.

    Now, what could this mean for future Google Fiber projects? Analysts speaking to the Wall Street Journal suggests that Google could be rolling out a wireless service to its Google Fiber subscribers. Those who subscribe to the service would be able to tap into exclusive Wi-Fi throughout the city. Another theory is that Google’s Motorola unit is building phones to take advantage of the new spectrum. Either way, Google is planning for the future of wireless, and it’s kind of exciting.

    Google already provides free Wi-Fi at its headquarters in California and New York. It’s great for those who are in or around the building, but what about entire cities? There have been some efforts to provide Wi-Fi access across an entire city, but it’s not exactly the best solution in getting Internet to everybody. Google’s plans may involve using this new spectrum that’s better suited for metropolitan environments to start offering wireless Internet to more people.

    Of course, the company will have to make sure people have the hardware to take advantage of it first. That’s an entirely different challenge in and of itself, but Google has proven in the past that it has the resources to dabble in such things. It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

  • Google Play Sponsors Free Wi-Fi Across the U.S.

    It’s not unheard-of for Google to give away free Wi-Fi access. For the past few years the company has offered complimentary Wi-Fi to travelers at airports during the holiday season.

    This week, Boingo Wireless announced that it will be enabling more than 4,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots in cities across the U.S. Boingo is the same software and services provider that Google partnered with to provide Wi-Fi in airports. The free Wi-Fi will last from now until the end of September.

    Boingo stated that the hotspots will be placed in high-traffic locations in “dozens” of cities in the U.S. 15 airports are included in the rollout, including JFK and O’Hare. Some Manhattan subway stations will get the service, as well as thousands of hotels, shopping malls, cafes, and “recreational areas.”

    Access to the Wi-Fi runs through Boingo’s Cloud Nine Media platform, which enables advertising through Wi-Fi access sponsorship. iPhone users are a bit out of luck, however – access is restricted to Android, Windows, and Mac OS X users. This may be a limitation of iOS, or it could be because the sponsor for the service is Google Play, Google’s web and smartphone store.

    “Google Play is the first to take part in our newly expanded Wi-Fi sponsorship network, which reaches millions of consumers each month with place-based brand engagements,” said Dawn Callahan, vice president of consumer marketing for Boingo Wireless. “Sponsorships like this give users the free Wi-Fi they crave, advertisers the consumer interaction they need, and venues the revenue to offset the costs associated with providing a high-bandwidth Wi-Fi experience.”