AlwaysOn, Uber testing WiFi for UberBLACK rides

The ever-popular and controversial passenger transport company, Uber, is partnering with AlwaysOn to offer South Africans Wifi in select UberBlack rides.

In a newsletter today, the popular WiFi hotspot provider AlwaysOn announced this new partnership with Uber. You may have already used AlwaysOn as they supply most shopping malls, takeaway outlets — such as KFC and McDonalds, Vida Cafe, as well as partnering with Samsung to give away free data to its users.

This new offering is currently in the testing phase but sounds rather interesting.

Read more: Desperate for free Wi-Fi? Try taking a ride in a South African minibus taxi

According to the email: “Request an UberBLACK ride before the end of September in either Jozi or Cape Town and you could receive complimentary access to the AlwaysOn network — while you ride!”

This new move is sure to make users of the high-end UberBLACK service happy; it remains to be seen if the feature will eventually extend to UberX. If the services eventually spreads to the cheaper UberX service, it will have yet another edge over traditional metered taxis.

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Presumably users interested in utilising this new feature will need to be signed up with AlwaysOn and connect to a mobile hotspot in the car. It will remain to be seen how strong the wireless connection is and what speeds will be obtainable from it.

Recently, Uber had partnered with FNB’s eBucks to be included in their rewards programme.