BT plan to convert street cabinets into EV chargers shelved

An ambitious plan to convert tens of thousands of BT’s green street cabinets into electric vehicle (EV) kerbside charge points has been axed.

Last year, BT Group announced its first charger was going live as part of a trial that the telecoms giant hoped could overcome barriers to EV adoption, particularly where off-road parking is not available to drivers.

The pilot, which was being managed by Bt Group's digital start-up company, Etc, was expected to be the first of approximately 600 which would be rolled out over an 18-month period.

The charging solution worked by retrofitting the cabinets with a device that enables energy drawn from a renewable source to power a charge point alongside the existing broadband service with no need to create a new power connection. 

EV charging, therefore, could be deployed to cabinets that are in-use for current copper broadband services, or in those due for retirement, depending on the space and power available to the unit. 

BT had said there was potential to upgrade up to 60,000 of its 90,000 cabinets, significantly boosting the public EV charging network. 

However, just one cabinet was converted to a 7.4kW charger. The charge point in East Lothian was to be used by BT Group and Openreach EV drivers, before being opened to the wider public.

A BT Group spokesperson told Fleet News: “Our EV charging trials have focussed on how we might help address the charging needs EV drivers face across the UK. 

“By adopting a pilot process we have been able to test and explore a great deal about the challenges that many on-street EV drivers are facing with charging and where BT Group can add most value to the UK EV ecosystem. 

“Other emerging needs we’ve identified include the Wi-Fi connectivity challenge surrounding EV’s - our pilots will now shift in focus to explore this further. This is in line with BT Group’s core focus on connectivity.”