BT explores greener solution for old copper cabinets

Just over two years ago, Clive Selley, chief executive of BT's Openreach business, described the public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK as a "shambles," noting that while it was difficult enough to actually find a charging point, "the chances of finding one that's in service is even lower."

Speaking on a panel at the Labour Party Conference in 2021, Selley made it clear that providing a robust EV charging network was absolutely critical to help companies such as Openreach convert their fleets of diesel-guzzling cars and vans into more environmentally friendly EVs.

Indeed, Openreach readily admits it is one of the UK's biggest offenders when it comes to road pollution. BT and Openreach operate a combined fleet of more than 34,000 vehicles, of which 29,000 are driven by Openreach engineers.

Openreach said it currently has 3,465 EVs in its fleet and is targeting 4,000 by the end of March 2024. It has previously said it is committed to switching most of its fleet to zero emissions by March 2031. While the majority will be EVs, "we are exploring alternative solutions such as hydrogen for some of the heavier vehicles such as pole erection vehicles," an Openreach spokesperson said.

While it is part of the problem, the network operator also wants to be part of the solution. Which is why Etc., BT's awkwardly named tech incubator unit, last year launched a two-year pilot that is exploring the use of its soon-to-be-obsolete copper cabinets as charging points for electric vehicles in the UK.

The move effectively aims to kill two birds with one stone: finding a new purpose for older cabinets traditionally used to store broadband and phone cabling, and now being made increasingly redundant by the deployment of fiber networks; and helping BT to achieve some of its environmental targets.

"Once the cabinet is no longer needed for broadband, as nationwide full fiber rollout progresses, the broadband equipment is recycled, and additional EV charge points can be added," the operator said.

Going even more green

Around 90,000 of BT's green-colored cabinets can be found on streets throughout the United Kingdom, and BT reckons up to 60,000 "may be suitable for upgrades to EV charging points."

On Monday, it announced that the first pilot EV charging point will be deployed in East Lothian, Scotland, "in the coming weeks," with further pilots set to roll out across the UK "in the coming months."

According to BT, the charging solution works by retrofitting the cabinets with a device that enables renewable energy to be shared to a charge point alongside the existing broadband service with no need to create a new power connection. It added that EV charging "can 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."

In terms of commercial deployments, BT indicated that it is exploring public funding options, private investment, partnership, "and wider financial modeling to establish a route to commercial benefit for the group."

Joe Thompson, head of group optical and network product at TXO, also remarked that BT's pilot program to adapt street cabinets into EV charging points "could be the start of a trend where service providers look to leverage existing or legacy network furniture for EV charging."

In comments emailed to Light Reading, Thompson said the industry is exploring a range of other use cases "to do more good with this essential street furniture, such as monitoring environmental metrics like air quality, noise pollution and land moisture, to serving communities as WiFi hotspots or for enterprise peering arrangements. These new initiatives could unlock much-needed revenue as providers look to monetize their fiber networks and build stronger relationships with local communities."

Charging ahead

Meanwhile, Selley would probably still describe public EV charging as a shambles, given that Zapmap figures show there were only 53,906 EV charging points across the UK at the end of December 2023, up from about 25,000 in 2021. This is seen as a significant barrier to the sale of EVs.

Indeed, BT's own research found that 60% of people think the UK's EV charging infrastructure is inadequate, with 78% of petrol and diesel drivers saying not being able to conveniently charge an EV is a barrier to getting one.

BT notes that the UK government's ambition is to increase the number of charge points to 300,000 by 2030. The pressure to achieve this figure has been eased somewhat after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed back a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2035 from 2030, and said the cars would still be available to buy on the secondhand market thereafter.

However, new draft Public Charge Point regulation dictates that EV chargers in the UK must be at least 99% reliable and provide real-time updates about availability.

BT also made it clear that this is a global challenge. The United States, for example, has only 160,000 public EV chargers currently installed to serve over 2.4 million electric vehicles, according to figures from Electrek.

EVs, drones, health Etc.

The EV charging pilot is certainly one of the first high-profile projects for Etc., established as an incubation unit by BT in 2022 with the remit to explore emerging technologies in areas adjacent to BT's more traditional offerings. It sits within the domain of Harmeen Metha, BT's chief digital officer.

At the launch event for Etc. in May 2022, managing director Tom Guy said the unit had been "given a license to sit outside of the core offering, a responsibility that gives us a unique opportunity to drive positive change. We think of it as the other stuff. The undefined."

According to Guy, the name Etc. "nods back to our roots as the Electric Telegraph Company and celebrates BT's two hundred year heritage." Initial focus areas are drones, fintech and health tech.

BT is already a partner in Project Skyway, which aims to establish the UK's first commercial drone corridor. The group recently launched what it claims is the UK's first Drone SIM for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operation.

In the health tech field, Etc. has developed a digital app that is designed to prevent, detect and manage cardiovascular disease through early monitoring and pre-emptive intervention.