Did you know that nearly all McDonalds restaurants have wi-fi? AT&T has set up pay hotspots in most of the Golden Arches. But when is the last time you saw anyone surfing the web while wolfing a burger? You'll tend to see more laptops in Starbucks (which is switching to AT&T hot-spots from T-Mobile) but I doubt that many are surfing the web, especially on a casual, pay as you go basis.

Pay wi-fi doesn't get used as much as it should. It costs too much and it's hard to set up. I've tried in Starbucks and it's not easy. It takes ten minutes, a dozen page loads and scores of clicks just to set up a $10 day-pass on the T-Mobile site. It's not worth the effort for casual use.

Unless, of course, you already have an account. Then it's easy and free. So will AT&T change the Starbucks internet experience? I think so. And I think they'll extend the use of the service to existing AT&T / Cingular wireless customers (of which I am one.)

There seems to be a convergence of interests. First, there was the Apple / Starbucks partnership. Then, AT&T and Apple partnered and now Starbucks and AT&T have partnered.

With all these overlapping partnerships Starbucks could be the place where a new and viable wi-fi business model emerges. It could be win/win for customers and providers.

UPDATE: Here's more on this from Glenn Fleishman.