I'm not sure that people having to do their homework at places like Starbucks and McDonald is something to be proud of.
Edit: I'm of course refering to the linked WSJ article. It's of course good that the option exists, but sad that the poor basically has the same access to the internet as someone hit by a hurricane.
Living in a college town, you'd be amazed how many people meet up at Coffee Shops to work. Personally, I'm like that as well. Something about getting out of the house and dropping $2 on coffee makes me force myself to work without distraction; it helps get you in the productive mindset.
Plus its a great way to retain customers; I'm more likely to go to my coffee shop of choice because of the hours I've sat there. Convincing me to 'move' shops needs a drastic measure (like putting Google in their store).
..now if my Starbucks would only have more outlets...
I hope you don't mean for the students themselves. I live in NYC and know at least two people who don't have a connection at home... I'm sure there are thousands more.
Most (if not all) of our public libraries have Wi-Fi, but at any given location you're more likely to be near a Starbucks than a library.
Edit: I'm of course refering to the linked WSJ article. It's of course good that the option exists, but sad that the poor basically has the same access to the internet as someone hit by a hurricane.