British Telecom Operator BT to Turn Street Cabinets Into EV Charge Points

The British telecom operator, BT Group, is to power up its first EV charging unit built from a street cabinet traditionally used to store broadband and phone cabling. The announcement marks the first step in the rollout of new technical trials, exploring the potential to upgrade up to 60,000 cabinets to help meet sustainability targets and decarbonise the transport system in the UK.

The pilots will explore how this solution could be scaled to address the lack of chargers on UK roads.

The first installation is located in East Lothian, Scotland, with further pilots to roll out across the UK in the coming months.

Through the trials, Etc., the startup and digital incubation arm at BT Group, will scope a range of different technical, commercial and operational considerations with bringing this EV charge point network online, including cabinet location, power availability, customer accessibility, digital customer experience and engineering considerations.

The initiative has unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), after being awarded an Innovation Honoree for 2024 for outstanding design and engineering.

Tom Guy, Managing Director, Etc. at BT Group, says “Our new charging solution is a huge step in bringing EV charging kerbside and exploring how we can address key barriers customers are currently facing. Working closely with local councils in Scotland and more widely across the UK, we are at a critical stage of our journey in tackling a very real customer problem that sits at the heart of our wider purpose to connect for good.”

He adds: “This is a key step in our mission to build products and services right now that work for the future, with positive transformation at the heart.”

BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services.