8ta's fleet of branded Nissan taxi cabs will now offer free WiFi via a dongle connected to the 8ta 3G network, the Telkom-owned service provider announced today.
The move aims to introduce more users to 8ta's 3G network.
"The only way to get people on to the network is for them to experience it," said 8ta senior managing executive Amith Maharaj.
He hopes that through trialling the service while on the go, passengers may decide to become 8ta subscribers.
The current fleet consists of 150 cabs in Gauteng, 50 in Durban and 100 in Cape Town, all of which will be online by the end of October. Maharaj said priority would be given to popular routes for the holiday season, such as to and from the airport.
Passengers will be able to access the network using a singular WiFi username and password that will remain consistent across cabs. There will be no limit placed on how much data they are able to use, nor what kind of content they are able to download.
Instructions on how to connect are on the backs of the cab seats and all the drivers are "trained for trouble-shooting," said Maharaj. In the event that the driver is unable to assist, a support desk number is provided.
The fleet is spread across all major cab companies and people will be able to request an 8ta cab when calling services like QuickCab. People will also be able to flag down the 8ta cabs in popular areas like Sandton City.
The cabs are compatible with all WiFi-enabled devices, including smartphones, tablets and laptops. They access the 8ta 3G network through a Huawei Mobile WiFi E5331 router installed in each cab.
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