We tested Starbucks Wi-Fi – and were seriously impressed

BitCo recently announced a partnership with Starbucks South Africa where it will provide the chain’s local stores with uncapped and uncontended 1Gbps fibre.
BitCo said the rollout has begun in selected stores and will continue throughout all stores nationwide.
The Starbucks stores in Melrose Arch and The Marc were the first to get 1Gbps fibre connections.
These are a big upgrade over the 100Mbps lines which were used to serve Starbucks clients to date.
Although 100Mbps Wi-Fi speeds were already marketed as the fastest Wi-Fi service provided by any retailer in South Africa, Starbucks SA managing executive Clive Liversage explained that the speed upgrades are part of their overall value proposition to their customers.
“Fast, reliable Internet access is hugely necessary for an environment like ours, where many of our customers come to work remotely,” said Liversage.
Starbucks Wi-Fi speeds tested
The free Wi-Fi is a big drawcard for many Starbucks clients, especially at the speeds which the company promises.
To see just how fast the connections are, MyBroadband tested Starbucks Wi-Fi speeds in two stores – Melrose Arch and Brooklyn – using three smartphones – an iPhone X, a Google Pixel, and a Samsung Galaxy S9.
We conducted numerous tests at the Starbucks outlets using the MyBroadband Speed Test, and the results were very impressive.
At the Melrose Arch Starbucks, download speeds peaked well over 300Mbps, while upload speeds exceeded 400Mbps.
At the Brooklyn Starbucks, which is still on a “slower” 100Mbps connection, download and upload speeds were well over 90Mbps.
The graphic below shows the speed test results at the Melrose Arch and Brooklyn Starbucks stores.