South Africa’s Telkom-owned mobile operator, 8ta, has teamed up with Chinese information and communications technology solutions provider, Huawei, to roll out the country’s first Wi-Fi enabled taxis.

The 150 Wi-Fi enabled cabs, branded with 8ta’s data offerings, will start operating across the country’s major cities, including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban from today.

In Johannesburg, there are 100 8ta cabs, while Cape Town has 30 and Durban 20 cabs. Plans are in place to increase the total number of cabs to 300 by the end of the year.

According to 8ta officials, the internet access in the cabs is compatible with all Wi-Fi enabled devices, allowing passengers who make use of these branded cabs to stay connected, at no additional costs.

Accessing the internet is possible through Huawei‘s E5331 wireless modem, which has the ability to connect to 8 Wi-Fi devices, such as laptops, iPads, iPhones, tablets, and smartphones.

“We essentially want people to experience our network, while we’re advertising about it and then they can make the decision whether they want to purchase or not,” said Amith Maharaj, senior managing director, 8ta.

“The data being offered in the cabs is for free and compatible with all kinds of Wi-Fi devices,” he concluded.