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Various pilots will be conducted by BT Group’s start-up incubator Etc., exploring whether the transition is feasible from a technical and operational standpoint

This week, BT’s start-up and Digital incubation team Etc. has announced that it will oversee a number of pilot programmes to transform decommissioned broadband cabinets into charging points for electric vehicles (EVs).

These cabinets, dotted all over streets of the UK, currently provide copper-based broadband and phone services to local consumers. However, as the UK’s networks rapidly shift to full fibre architecture, these cabinets are becoming obsolete, prompting BT Group to consider repurposing the.

According to BT, the scope of the pilot projects will include a range of technical, operational, and commercial analysis, from upgrade viability based on location to potential joint venture business models to commercialise the would-be EV network.

The first of these pilot projects will reportedly take place in Northern Ireland later this autumn, with more locations added across the UK before the end of the year. The various tests are expected to continue for two years before commercialisation can be considered.

If successful, these conversions could end up as a significant proportion of the UK’s national EV infrastructure. The entire country currently has around 45,000 charging points operational, but the government has plans to invest £1.6 billion to increase this figure to 300,000 by 2030.

“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,” says Tom Guy, Managing Director of Etc. “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.”

Ultimately, not every cabinet BT owns is likely to be converted, since not all of them will prove cost-effective or be in practical locations. Nonetheless, initial estimates suggest around two-thirds of BT Group’s 90,000 cabinets could be suitable for the upgrade.

BT Group is not alone in considering repurposing this soon-to-be legacy infrastructure for EV purposes. Virgin Media O2, for example, has been working alongside Liberty Global’s joint venture Liberty Charge since 2021 to deploy a small number of charging points leveraging their own cabinet and duct infrastructure.

How far is the future of electric vehicles entwined with the world of telecoms?  Join the ecosystem in discussion at this year’s live Connected Britain conference 

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Why the industry must accelerate the adoption of 5.5G 

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The two firms have been in partnership for nearly ten years developing network equipment, most recently for Ericsson’s Cloud RAN product line 

Intel and Ericsson have deepened their existing partnership this week, with Intel agreeing to make new custom chips for Ericsson’s 5G infrastructure. 

As part of the agreement, Intel will produce custom 5G system-on-chips (SoCs), which will reportedly enable Ericsson to increase the energy efficiency and capacity of its cloud RAN technology. 

Intel will use its ‘18A’ process for the chip’s production, which is the most advanced node of Intel’s ‘five-in-four-years’ roadmap it announced in 2021. 

It has not been disclosed when the chip will hit the market, although Intel have previously said its 18A technology will be ready late next year, sooner than predicted. 

“Ericsson has a long history of close collaboration with Intel, and we are pleased to expand this further as we utilize Intel to manufacture our future custom 5G SoCs on their 18A process node, which is in line with Ericsson’s long-term strategy for a more resilient and sustainable supply chain,” said Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson. 

“In addition, we will be expanding our collaboration that we announced at MWC 2023 to work together with the ecosystem to accelerate industry-scale open RAN utilising standard Intel Xeon-based platforms.”  

Intel hopes that the development of these new processes will allow them to return to a position of market leadership by 2025, having lost ground in recent years to key rivals such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).  

TSMC is the largest chip maker in the world, controlling 58% revenue market share as of Q4 last year, and recently have been manufacturing the world’s smallest and most powerful semi-conductors. 

In trying to increase its global market share, Intel is building new chip plants around the world, including a $4.6 billion plant in Poland, and a $20 billion Ohio factory. 

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Also in the news:
Ericsson shows off 5G Cloud RAN in Germany with O2 Telefónica
Ericsson partners with Dell for Cloud RAN infrastructure
Ericsson to consolidate Estonian operations with new €155m tech hub

 

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