EV Charging Operators
Netavo provides multi-network mobile data and private connectivity for charge point operators, charger manufacturers, installers and charging hub developers in the UK and overseas. We connect your chargers to the back-end systems that authorise, meter and manage them, with fixed connectivity for larger hubs and depots.
What the sector requires
A charger that cannot reach its back-end system cannot authorise a driver, record a session or report a fault. Chargers are installed in car parks, forecourts, kerbsides and depots, where a fixed line is often unavailable or uneconomic, and where the mobile networks available differ from one location to the next.
An operator's estate is dispersed and grows quickly. Each charger needs a dependable route to the charge point management system, that route needs to be secure, and the connections need to be managed as an estate: activated as chargers are commissioned, monitored for data use, and ceased when equipment is replaced.
- A connection at every chargerMore than one mobile network
- SecurityCharger traffic kept off the public internet
- A route to the back endPrivate connectivity into the management platform
- A growing estateConnections managed centrally, not one at a time
- Predictable costData pooled across the estate
How we support it
Connectivity for charging operators, and services delivered for charger installers and platform providers.
| Requirement | How we meet it |
|---|---|
| Connectivity for each charger | Multi-network SIMs and eSIMs, including industrial formats |
| Sites with variable mobile coverage | Access to all four UK mobile networks on one SIM, with network selection policy set for the estate |
| Chargers deployed in other countries | Global multi-network access, with coverage agreed around the countries in the deployment |
| Keeping chargers private | Private addressing, with no public exposure of the equipment |
| Reaching a cloud-hosted management platform | Private cloud interconnect into AWS or Azure |
| Reaching systems on your own network | An encrypted tunnel or connection to an existing corporate WAN |
| Charging hubs and depots | Fibre and Ethernet access, with mobile failover where required |
| Controlling data cost | Allowances per SIM or pooled across the estate |
| Commissioning and retiring chargers | Activation, suspension and usage reporting through the portal or API |
Who we work with
| Who | What we provide |
|---|---|
| Charge point operators | EV charger SIMs for every charger in a public or private network, on a private route to the charge point management system |
| Charger manufacturers | SIMs and eSIMs fitted at the factory, supplied inactive and activated when each charger is commissioned |
| Installers | Charge point SIMs for the chargers you fit, managed through the portal or API |
| Charging hub developers | Fibre and Ethernet access for larger hubs and depots, with mobile failover |
Supply connectivity with your chargers
Charger manufacturers and installers can supply connectivity as part of what they sell. As a Netavo partner, you resell our multi-network SIMs under your own brand: your customers manage them in a portal that carries your brand, you set the price and you invoice them.
Where you run your own platform, the same SIM controls are available through our API, so connectivity can be managed alongside the chargers themselves.
IoT SIM partnerships →- PortalIn your brand
- Pricing and billingYours
- APISIM control inside your platform
Planning connectivity for a charging estate
Mobile where there is no line, fixed where capacity requires it
Most individual chargers are connected by mobile data, because a fixed line to a parking bay is rarely practical. A hub with many chargers, or a depot that also needs connectivity for its own operations, may justify fixed access with a mobile second path. Both can sit on the same private network.
A private route to the management platform
A private SIM network can deliver charger traffic directly into the cloud environment or network where the charge point management system runs. Chargers do not need public addresses, and none needs to maintain an encrypted tunnel of its own.
What Netavo provides, and what it does not
Netavo provides the connectivity. The chargers, the charge point management system and the payment services are supplied by the operator and its equipment and platform providers. Coverage at each location is part of the design discussion: multi-network access widens the choice of networks, but it is not a promise of a signal at every bay.
How an estate is delivered
Design
Coverage, data allowances, addressing and the route to the management platform are agreed around how the chargers communicate.
Deliver
SIMs and eSIM profiles are supplied inactive and activated as chargers are commissioned, so charges begin only in service.
Operate
Usage is monitored per SIM, allowances are adjusted as the estate grows, and SIMs are suspended or ceased as equipment is replaced.
A typical engagement
A typical engagement begins with an operator or installer's charger model, the way it reports to its back end, and the locations planned. We agree coverage and data allowances for the chargers, establish a private connection between our network and the management platform, and supply SIMs for fitting during installation.
Each SIM is activated as its charger is commissioned. The operator manages connections and reviews usage through the portal, or integrates those controls with its own systems through our API. Further sites are added in the same way as the estate grows.
Common questions
What SIM does an EV charger need?
An EV charger needs a data SIM, or eSIM, that can use more than one mobile network. Netavo's EV charger SIMs use all four UK mobile networks on one SIM, so the same SIM works wherever the charger is installed.
Do EV chargers need a static IP address for OCPP?
Usually not, because chargers connect out to the charge point management system. Netavo SIMs use private addressing as standard, with static public addresses or a private network available where a platform must reach the charger.
Can one SIM serve several chargers on a site?
Yes. A SIM in a 4G router can connect the chargers on a site behind it. Larger hubs and depots can use Netavo fibre or Ethernet access with mobile failover.
Can charger traffic be kept off the public internet?
Yes. Netavo can place chargers on a private SIM network delivered into AWS or Azure, over an encrypted tunnel or onto an existing corporate WAN.
Can charger manufacturers and installers resell Netavo SIMs?
Yes. Netavo partners resell EV charger SIMs under their own brand, with a white-label portal and their own pricing and billing.
When do charges for a charge point SIM begin?
Netavo supplies SIMs and eSIM profiles inactive and activates each one as its charger is commissioned, so charges begin only when the charger is in service.
Relevant capabilities
IoT & Mobile Data
Global multi-network SIMs on our own mobile core, with internet access or a private network for device fleets.
Explore IoT →IoT SIM Reseller and White-Label M2M SIM Partners
Multi-network IoT and M2M SIMs for resellers and partners, with a white-label portal, an API and your own pricing and billing.
Explore IoT SIM partnerships →Connectivity & WAN
Fibre and Ethernet access, private WAN and resilient connectivity, from a single site to a national estate.
Explore connectivity →Further reading
From our Insights library:
Discuss an EV charging requirement
Tell us about the chargers, where they are being installed and where your management platform is hosted. We will respond with coverage options, a recommended design and pricing.
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