Telefonica UK and Chargemaster plc have announced a partnership that’ll see O2 SIM cards used in the machine-to-machine technology connecting Chargemaster’s UK-wide network of electric vehicle charging points.
Chargemaster recently announced a national charging network called POLAR. It’s the UK’s largest private sector-funded network, with around 4,000 electric vehicle charging bays due to be installed in towns and cities across the UK by the end of 2012.
Each charging point will communicate via Telefonica’s M2M offering to a central database, ensuring that customers can quickly authorise themselves when plugging in their car.
The two companies will also work together on developing services that help stimulate the adoption of electric vehicle charging services, such as allowing customers to find their nearest charging point and pay for using it via their mobile phone.
Gilli Coston, Head of M2M at Telefónica UK, said “We are committed to bringing products and services to market that help our customers live more sustainable lives. Electric cars represent a huge potential growth area and working with Chargemaster we hope to develop a range of services to help our customers and to boost this fledgling market.”