T-Mobile Sues Starbucks Over Free Wifi – The PR Issues
Over the weekend, T-Mobile sued Starbucks over the coffee company and its new partner, AT&T offering free in-store Wifi. The details can be found at GigaOm and Rich Tehrani’s Blog
One aspect that has not been covered is the PR implications of the lawsuit. I think that T-Mobile is underestimating the PR hit that they will take if they are successful. Consider that every time a Starbucks Wi-Fi user logs in, they will be reminded T-Mobile took away their free WiFi.
The other interesting point is that if T-Mobile is successful, they would have to prove damages. In doing so, they would have to provide a public look at the profitability of the Starbucks arrangement. Since that arrangement is going away regardless of this lawsuit, the bottom line effect of the loss would become public knowledge. So winning the lawsuit would have a price.
On an unrelated issue, it definitely is cool having a blog tag on Rich Tehrani’s blog.
Written by Rob AdlerLast 3 posts by Radler
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Tags: AT&T, GigaOm, PR Issue, Rich Tehrani, Starbucks, T-Mobile, Wifi
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