UK charging infrastructure is suffering from limited mobile phone connectivity, a new report claims.
Two thirds of Type-2 public chargers lack an adequate level of phone signal coverage from all four major network providers to guarantee they can be activated 100 per cent of the time, the RAC Foundation claims.
Patchy phone signal means drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) could face problems topping up their car batteries at thousands of locations.
A new study by the RAC Foundation has found that UK mobile phone signal is letting down the public charging network, as more than two thirds of all slow Type-2 public chargers have been found to have inadequate signal to guarantee activation 100 per cent of the time
As of the start of 2024, the Department of Transport (based on ZapMap data) records show there are at least 53,677 public chargers available to EV owners.
Of, these, the vast majority – 31,910 – are Type-2 chargers.
These Type-2 public chargers can charge up to 8kW – slow charging – and aren’t obliged to provide contactless payment.
The vast majority require drivers to access them via mobile apps and are reliant on the mobile phone network to provide adequate signal.
Britain has four mobile network providers: EE, O2, Three and Vodafone, on which other companies such as Giffgaff and Tesco Mobile can piggyback.
Mobile phones are an everyday essential, and becoming increasingly important in the use and functionality of cars today. Yet poor signal from all four network providers – EE, O2, Three and Vodafone – is affecting the functionality of tens of thousands of chargers across Britain
The issue for motorists wanting to charge is that unless all four are providing decent signal coverage then there’s a risk that either the user or the charger will lack the connection needed to unlock the flow of electricity to be able to charge the EV.
And this risk is a very real problem, the RAC Foundation findings uncovered.
Across Britain (outside of London) just a third (33.4 per cent) of Type-2 chargers analaysed by the RAC Foundation are in locations where there is acceptable all-network 4G coverage.
In London, the situation is slightly better but not to the level you’d expect in the capital, where signal is assumed to be near perfect.
Even in London, phone signal was not guaranteed to be good enough to ensure that chargers would function properly every time. The risk is that either the user or the charger will lack the connection needed to unlock the flow of electricity to be able to charge the EV
Only 39.7 per cent of the slow public chargers analysed in the city had adequate signal.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, is calling for better mobile-to-car-to-charger infrastructure integration: ‘All these systems need to be designed with an eye sharply focused on real-world network coverage, which is often patchy, sometimes non-existent, and not about to become infinitely better.
‘Where signal connectivity at a chargepoint is a problem drivers might conclude that the charger is at fault hence undermining the confidence we should be building in the reliability of public charging options for electric vehicles.
‘What’s more, the poor connectivity won’t get picked up in the new mandatory reporting system applying only to the rapid charger network.’
This study comes as the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reports that the market share of new pure battery electric cars fell to 15.2 per cent in March compared with 16.2 per cent in the same month last year.
There’s been growing calls recently for the Government to step up its EV efforts, most notably to slash the VAT on public charging to 5 per cent
It also follows widespread criticism from industry leaders after the Chancellor failed to deliver any EV incentives to motorists in the Spring Budget.
Experts and manufacturers said the Chancellor ‘missed a massive opportunity’ by refusing to respond to calls for ‘fair taxes for a fair transition’.
One of those taxes was the slashing of VAT on public charging to 5 per cent to bring public charging costs in line with home charging energy rates and make it fairer for EV owners without access to home chargers.
The RAC Foundation suggests workarounds could include roaming SIM cars that can connect to whichever mobile network is most robust at the charging site, external and/or additional antennae for data, and mast sharing between network operators.
Gooding added: ‘In order to design reliable connected services that work for motorists we need a better approach to assessing and reporting the adequacy of on-the-move connectivity so that designers, including electric chargepoint providers, can select which of the readily available workarounds would cover for the shortcomings of the mobile networks.’
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