Starbucks & AT&T

I was walking through the mall yesterday and I passed by an AT&T stand with a a prominently placed advertisement. The advertisement was promoting AT&T's coverage network. The advertisement featured a smiling Starbucks barista in a green apron who had lined up 4 sizes of Starbucks cups, from small to large, to represent having "full bars" when you have full network service on your cell phone. This ad is similar to other AT&T promotions; however it caught my attention because Starbucks' logo was prominently placed in the advertisement for another company. I assumed that Starbucks and AT&T had formed some type of a business partnership. Upon further investigation on the Internet, I discovered that in 2008 Starbucks and AT&T reached an agreement to bring free Wi-Fi to Starbucks coffee shops. This partnership further expands AT&T's Wi-Fi network, while benefiting Starbucks' Card holders who take advantage of 2 hours of free Wi-Fi service per day.