Starbucks has begun to switch over stores in the San Antonio area from T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi service to AT&T, the companies confirmed today. So far, only one store is successfully up and running using AT&T’s network. Before the end of the year, Starbucks and AT&T plan to switch over as many as 7,000 locations.

Based in San Antonio, AT&T already has about 10,000 public hotspots across the country; the addition of Starbucks locations will increase its total to about 17,000.

In February, Starbucks announced plans to switch from long-time provider T-Mobile to AT&T for Wi-Fi service; T-Mobile customers will still be able to access Wi-Fi at Starbucks locations thanks to a roaming agreement between the two carriers.

Wi-Fi service in Starbucks will be free to qualifying customers of AT&T’s U-verse and broadband services in the company’s 22-state operating region. Starbucks cardholders also will qualify for free access; paid service will start at $3.99 per session. Starbucks also has announced that it will offer its employees free access at any location.

The trend toward open networks may be daunting for some wireless carriers, but there are reasons why it can be a very positive development, according to telecommunications consultancy Cambridge Strategic Management Group’s (CSMG) latest report, Mobile Handset Industry Outlook: Impacts of the Shift to Open Mobile Models.

“The example we detail in the study is the iPhone, where AT&T has given up more control than traditionally it has had in product development,” said co-author David Young. “We do expect to see other deals that are similar in that they’re targeting niche customer sets, a really innovative product, and maybe even with a well-known consumer brand, but each one is going to be different. There are relatively few companies that are as well-suited to do what Apple did,” he said.

It’s likely that future deals will be “less sweeping but just as economically interesting,” Young said. For example, they could be application-specific, he said.

“Nothing’s going to stop convergence, but this idea of secondary device types, maybe that people carry in addition, or that are for a specific market – we think that idea has real traction. We believe the most successful model going forward, the most disruptive model will be partnering with carriers. I think the real challenges are finding opportunities for revenue stimulation and cost avoidance,” he said. There has been plenty of emphasis on new revenue ideas but not enough on lowering costs, he said.

“Open isn’t a panacea. There are going to be limits to what an open network can do,” Young noted. Security, complexity and enterprise ISV partnerships will be vital for making open networks truly useful.

US telecoms giant AT&T said Tuesday that hackers have stolen personal data, including credit card information, from as many as 19,000 of its customers.

The security breach came to light over the weekend and affects only AT&T customers who bought purchased DSL equipment through the company’s online web store.

“The unauthorised electronic access took place over the weekend, was discovered within hours and the online store was shut down immediately,” a statement form the company said. “AT&T also quickly notified the major credit card companies whose customer accounts were involved. The company is also working with law enforcement to investigate the incident and pursue the perpetrators.”

AT&T said that it has sent out customer notifications by email, phone and letter. The company will also pay for credit monitoring services to assist in protecting the customers involved.

“We recognise that there is an active market for illegally obtained personal information. We are committed to both protecting our customers’ privacy and to weeding out and punishing the violators,” said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T.

Ironically, AT&T Government Solutions, a business unit of AT&T, was also awarded a $250m network contract from the US Department of Defense (DoD) Tuesday.

“At AT&T, we make it our mission to ensure that our military customers are getting the most reliable, secure and cost-effective solutions available anywhere,” said Don Herring, president of AT&T Government Solutions in the press release.

Earlier this week, Nicholas Lee Jacobsen, the 23 year old hacker who broke into the personal records of T-Mobile USA’s customers in 2004 was given just a $10,000 fine and a year under house arrest.