BT Group has said that its start-up Etc., will run pilots to convert or upgrade the company's street cabinets for electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The cabinets, which will be decommissioned as the nationwide upgrade to full fibre progresses, are currently used to provide copper-based broadband and phone services.

The telecoms giant said that the move would provide “critical insight” into the viability of scaling EV charging to more locations across its network.

The business says that the first phase of its pilots, which will initially be open to Openreach and BT Group employees only, will begin in Northern Ireland in the Autumn.

The trial will be expanded to the public with more locations added across the UK later in the year.

“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, Etc. at BT Group. “We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to connect for good in a whole new way by innovating around our cabinet infrastructure.”

He added that the pilots are important stage in establishing effective technical, commercial and operational routes to market over the next two years.

Last year the government said it would support a new ambition for the UK charging market to increase the number of EV charge points from roughly 45,000 to 300,000 by 2023 by pledging £1.6 billion in public funding.

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