Starbucks will offer free Wi-Fi beginning July 1 at about 60 percent of its U.S. stores. It will not be available at some 4,400 shops in airports, grocery stores and other combination locations.

The move comes six months after McDonald's began offering free Wi-Fi.

Currently, Starbucks offers two hours a day of free Internet access for customers who use a registered Starbucks card at least once a month. AT&T DSL customers get free Wi-Fi, and there are other plans for AT&T customers; everyone else pays $3.99 for two hours.

Howard Schultz also said at a Wired business conference that this fall, the chain will unveil Starbucks Digital Network in partnership with Yahoo. The network will give customers free access to The Wall Street Journal online and other services; its partners include iTunes, The New York Times, Patch, USA Today and Zagat. The network sprang from a new Starbucks business unit called digital ventures, which is led by Chief Information Officer Stephen Gillett.