Christopher Riley, managing director of the Notebook Company, a notebook retailer, says that, as the Gautrain awaits the final go-ahead to begin operating the rapid rail link, there are issues about how commuters will be able to communicate effectively via 3G.

"Besides the current confusion surrounding pricing, one of the issues I think ... is very important is just how effective will 3G communication be while travelling on the train? Has the Gautrain management team - and cellular providers - actually checked that 3G on the Gautrain is really portable and that seamless connections are intact while travelling?"

Riley said that if reception was erratic - or non-existent - a "significant portion" of business travellers would arguably opt not to use the Gautrain.

"The 3G technology is meant to be a transportable internet service, but it does seem to work a lot better when you do not move from repeater to repeater. This acts to make transmission very spotty, something the business traveller will really not appreciate," Riley said.