TORONTO – Bell Canada and Starbucks Coffee Canada announced they’ll make wireless Internet service available in Starbucks coffee shops across Canada.
Company-operated Starbucks’ will offer Wi-Fi Internet access beginning with an Ontario rollout this week to 140 store. Rogers has had a similar service in place with Second Cup outlets since February of this year.
Bell says the demand for this service was confirmed by the latest edition of the Bell Canada Consumer Survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid, which said that the number of Canadian wireless Internet users is expected to more than double over the next year – from 18% of Canadians today to 40 per cent in 2006, said the press release.
The survey of 1,003 Canadians also suggests a rapid acceleration in the number of wireless Internet users likely to use wireless Internet access points in coffee shops and other locations outside their home by next year if hotspots are available – up to 72% of wireless internet users from 43%.
The survey also reveals a growing desire to use Wi-Fi in tandem with a large number of Canadians that want to enjoy a cup of their favourite coffee while surfing the net:
* 71% of all Canadian wireless Internet users – and 81% between ages 18 and 34 – say they are likely or somewhat likely to use wireless Internet in 2006 at coffee shops and other locations where Wi-Fi hotspots are available.
* Canadians in Ontario and Alberta are the most likely to drink coffee while using the Internet, followed by residents in Québec and Atlantic Canada.
* Canadians under 35, and those with a post-secondary education, are the most thirsty to surf the net and sip coffee.
"The survey confirms that Canadians are on the move and want to be untethered from wires that confine their laptops to their homes and offices," said Almis Ledas, vice-president, corporate development, Bell Canada, in a press release. "By rolling out secure and reliable Wi-Fi hotspots in 140 Starbucks stores in Ontario, Bell Canada and Starbucks Coffee Canada are giving Canadians the freedom and mobility they crave."
Starbucks and Bell will soon introduce Wi-Fi service at coffee shops in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Over the next year, the companies plan to bring wireless hotspots to more than 400 Canadian Starbucks locations.
