Starbucks openes free Wi-Fi at 6,700 U.S. sites

Starbucks Corp. says it will begin offering unlimited free Wi-Fi at all of its company-operated U.S. locations next month.

The free wireless Internet will be available on July 1 at about 6,700 locations.

The coffee house had previously offered two free hours of Web access each day to registered customers. Now, access won’t require a Starbucks loyalty card.

After that, consumers at the Seattle chain were charged a small fee.

The announcement was made Monday by chief executive Howard Schultz who  was speaking at a conference in New York.