As of today commuters on South Africa's Gautrain can now search the internet and receive calls on their mobile phones while on the high speed rail transport service.

This follows a partnership between the Gautrain Management Agency and two of the country's biggest mobile operators, MTN and Vodacom.

Previously connectivity was restricted to all above-ground Gautrain stations. This meant that once underground, commuters could not connect to a network services from their mobile devices.

Dr Barbara Jensen, senior executive manager of communication and marketing for the Gautrain Management Agency told ITWeb Africa connectivity will be available at three underground stations namely Park Station, Rosebank and Sandton.

Jensen stated, "Vodacom and MTN subscribers will have the benefit of connectivity, they will now have voice and data coverage."

"Subscribers will be charged normal call and data charges and costs as charged by their choice of mobile network operator," she said.

Although this partnership sees only two major network operators offer connectivity to Gautrain commuters, Jensen confirmed that discussions are underway to get other local networks on board.

Strategic Partners Group (SPG) has provided an enabling infrastructure layer that, according to founding executive chairman Mzolisi Diliza, is designed to be upgradable and "best accommodate the needs of all the cellular operators."

Individual operators will decide whether or not to participate in the various stages of the project, both in the shorter or longer term, Diliza told ITWeb Africa.

Media reports have stated that on a typical weekday 50,000 commuters use the train and 20,000 use the bus service.