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EV smart charging drives sustainability forward – Is your BSS ready?

With the right BSS solutions in place, the Internet of Things (IoT) promises to play a prominent role in helping communication service providers (CSPs) enable sustainability, while also capitalizing on new 5G network investments and advanced industry IoT use cases.

Jun 15, 2022 | 4 min.

Rayane Chahine

Solution Marketing OSS/BSS

Jun 15, 2022 | 4 min.

Rayane Chahine

Solution Marketing OSS/BSS

Rayane Chahine

Solution Marketing OSS/BSS

BSS evolution is needed for CSPs to benefit from new 5G IoT opportunities

5G use cases push the boundaries for CSPs. Supported by IoT solutions, these use cases demonstrate 5G’s ability to serve a larger market, while leveraging information communication technology (ICT) to support a very flexible ecosystem of IoT partners for solution fulfilment.

Improving air quality, reducing energy consumption, and reducing waste are just some of the ways that IoT solutions drive sustainability. There are many examples of how IoT underpins these solutions such as smart energy and water management and smart agriculture.

Let’s dig deeper and explore the following questions: What are the BSS capabilities required to serve sustainability use cases? How can CSPs derive the most benefit from the IoT ecosystem that 5G enables? How can CSPs attract, retain, and monetize ideal IoT partners?

Let’s investigate the electric vehicle (EV) smart charging solution use case and the role of BSS: BSS for sustainable choices: Exploring Electric Vehicle (EV) smart charging - Ericsson.

IoT monetization within enterprise use cases requires CSPs to be very flexible and scalable to attract and retain IoT players. Agile BSS capabilities are critical throughout the IoT ecosystem, including partner management, robust ordering, orchestration, monetization, and fulfilment.

Smart charging amplifies the EV’s green energy benefits

The EV revolution is already under way and poised to change driving as we know it. Rather than fueling up, drivers plug EVs into charging stations to recharge their vehicles. EV smart charging is a next-gen process that optimizes when, where and how EV drivers charge their vehicles, while also catering to electric grid supply constraints.

As one of many compelling 5G enterprise use cases, EV smart charging gives EV drivers the means to time shift their charging sessions to off-peak periods when electrical energy demand and cost is much lower.

Through this use case, EV drivers can quickly ascertain where the nearest charging station is, what their state of charge (SOC) is and charging rates and payment options for smart charging. They’ll also be able to schedule their charging at the most convenient and economical times of day, initiate the charging and authorize payment via credit/debit cards or other payment arrangements all from a smartphone app. One convenient payment method that CSPs can offer to their EV smart charging partners as part of their managed, integrated 5G platform services is the wallet payment service.

Figure 1 below illustrates the characteristics and benefits of the EV smart charging solution.

Figure 1: Main characteristics of EV smart charging

Ultra-high data speeds and low latency—along with OSS/BSS capabilities—make 5G a powerful platform for the near-real-time data exchanges that IoT connectivity for EV smart charging requires.

As highlighted in our eBrief: BSS for sustainable choices: Exploring Electric Vehicle (EV) smart charging - Ericsson, one model would be that the IoT smart charging solution is supported by BSS capabilities, such as digital partner management, network slice management, BSS service exposure for 5G and IoT, and wallet payment solutions—all created through an ecosystem of partners—with touchpoints on operational support systems (OSS) and network capabilities.

CSPs can monetize their investments in 5G with BSS capabilities to enable EV market players —including charging point operators (CPOs), electric mobility service providers (eMSPs) and utilities companies—to service EV drivers with smart charging solutions.

The BSS throughway to EV savings

To be a smart, innovative and convenient service, EV smart charging depends upon an automated interchange between an array of advanced technologies such as telecom BSS, artificial intelligence (AI), IoT and cloud capabilities. To work efficiently, the end-to-end (E2E) EV smart charging process demands the near-real-time responsiveness and interactivity that a BSS/OSS-rich 5G network is ideally suited to provide.

This automation encompasses an ecosystem of partners—including CPOs, eMSPs and utilities companies—who depend upon the CSP’s 5G connectivity and BSS capabilities to support the provision of EV smart charging solution to EV drivers.

The latest Ericsson eBrief: BSS for sustainable choices: Exploring Electric Vehicle (EV) smart charging - Ericsson describes the 5G EV smart charging use case and the essential role that BSS plays in the process.

The eBrief also advises today’s CSPs that having a 5G ready digital BSS platform in place is the first step for capitalizing on the use case - and many of the other propitious 5G enterprise use cases—to achieve a rapid return on investment (ROI).

Table 1: EV industry forecasts

By 2023, EV users will be able to halve their vehicles’ cost of ownership by generating income from digitally enabled services.

By 2025, plug-in EV sales will reach 8% of total vehicle sales, up from about 5% in 2019.

By 2025, all of Europe and half of U.S. states will require automakers to give third parties direct access to the vehicle through telematics-based connections.

By 2025, the average range of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) will also reach over 350 miles.

By 2030, more than half of all vehicle models in major automakers’ portfolios will be EVs.

By 2040, EVs will comprise 54% of new car sales globally.

Source: BSS for sustainable choices: Exploring Electric Vehicle (EV) smart charging

EV smart charging puts CSPs in the driver’s seat

High performance and low latency are key network attributes when it comes to EV smart charging. IoT devices, like a widespread network of smart meters, must be able to relay data swiftly and dependably for EV smart charging to work. 5G supports the cellular IoT communication ecosystem of partners, services, cloud and device management that makes EV smart charging and sustainability possible.

In this use case, where they assume the role of service enablers to the eMSP, CSPs can assure their partners that they will provide a high quality of service (QoS) —in terms of service level agreements (SLAs), network slice management and IoT innovation. But only if the E2E process has the backing and resilience that a fully transformed and evolved digital BSS fabric provides.

This is because having evolved OSS/BSS software deployed enables CSPs to deftly support the batch orchestration of robust transactions, partner contracts, enterprise ordering and fulfillment that EV smart charging comprises.

To the EV driver, the on-demand EV smart charging experience is painlessly enabled by registering onto the eMSP’s EV smart charging platform and downloading an app that connects them with the automated and interactive services they want intuitively. Everyone—CPOs, eMSPs, utility providers, and EV drivers—can collaboratively manage and control recharging by sharing essential telematics over the CSP’s network.

Recognizing that the EV future is fast approaching, and that both the demand and profit potential are accelerating for smart charging, CSPs must proactively prepare their BSS and 5G network capabilities to handle this and other sophisticated 5G use cases.

With this E2E foundation in place, CSPs are now free to establish viable 5G monetization models, engage the ideal partners, enlist cloud providers, orchestrate robust transactions and support the advanced technologies-driven data sharing that will surely fuel EV smart charging.

Learn more

Check out the following Ericsson eBrief publications to learn more about 5G use cases, network slicing, and 5G business models to acquire information that can benefit CSPs considering pursuing emerging 5G use cases and 5G monetization: