BT Group has announced that its start-up team – Etc. – will, over the next two years, conduct technical and commercial pilots to convert or upgrade its street cabinets for electric vehicle charging units.
The pilots will provide insight into the viability to scale EV charging to more locations across its estate. The cabinets are currently used for providing copper-based broadband and phone services, and will be decommissioned as the nationwide upgrade to full fibre progresses.
The first phase of the EV charging pilots, open to Openreach and BT Group colleagues, is planned to kick off in Northern Ireland in the Autumn of 2023, and will be expanded to the public with more pilot locations added across the UK later in the year. While at an early stage, if successful this could make an important contribution to decarbonising the transport system and supporting the UK’s plans to get to net zero.
The team will scope a range of different technical, commercial and operational considerations with bringing this EV charge point network online, including:
- Technical – including cabinet location, power availability, customer accessibility, digital customer experience and engineering considerations
- Civil planning – including location, local council engagement and physical accessibility
- Commercial – including public funding options, private investment, partnership, and wider financial modelling
- Operational – as a dedicated BT Group venture or in partnership with others
Etc.’s early projections suggest that, over time, as many as 60,000 of the 90,000 cabinets may be suitable for upgrades to EV charging points; but neither the trials nor any potential scaling of the new EV charge network would present any change or disruption to the telecommunications services supported from the cabinets. However, decisions on any further scaling on this programme will depend on the success of the two years of pilots.
Tom Guy, Managing Director, Etc. at BT Group, said:
With the ban on sales of internal combustion engine vehicles coming in 2030, and with only around 45,000 public charge points today, the UK needs a massive upgrade to meet the needs of the EV revolution. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect for good in a whole new way by innovating around our cabinet infrastructure. The pilots are critical for the team to work through the assessment and establish effective technical, commercial and operational routes to market over the next two years.
