Well known as a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies with a full range of products for charging electric vehicles, ECOtality has partnered with Sprint Nextel to ensure connectivity on the Company Blink electric vehicle charging station and to guarantee high customer satisfaction.
As the Johnatan Read, CEO of ECOtality said: “We will continue to partner with leading, innovative companies like Sprint”. “With the Sprint Command Center technology, our Blink Electric Vehicle charging stations are provided with the reliable wireless connectivity necessary to power the advanced capabilities of the Blink Network and ensure customer satisfaction. In addition, we are able to conduct a variety of business services, from monitoring to electronic payments. Electric Vehicle drivers will be able to depend on our chargers for smart operation, intuitive features, and reliable connectivity.”
ECOtality’s Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Stations will conduct a variety of business services, utilizing the Sprint Command Centre, including; monitoring, electronic payments, and displaying digital content for advertising and information. They will install the company’s Blink electric vehicle charging stations across the country, and will install nearly 15,000 Level 2 chargers at residential and commercial locations, and over 300 DC Fast Charging ports at public and commercial sites now, and throughout 2011.
Through ECOtality‘s new partnership, Sprint will provide the wireless network that will allow ECOtality to monitor and manage the Blink Network, an infrastructure of electric vehicle chargers across the United States, for use by consumers as well as commercial hosts. In addition, the Blink Network will prove access to a web-portal containing a wealth of information about consumer’s electric vehicles, and charging habits.
“Sprint is proud to provide advanced wireless network services that will allow ECOtality to monitor and manage their Blink Network,” said Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint. “In addition, our wireless data network will help process a variety of electronic payments and deliver digital content for advertising and information.”
The Blink Network is accessible from any Blink charging station, over the internet, and on your Smartphone. Additionally, because every Blink charging station is capable of communicating through a variety of methods, information is also available by wireless cellular, LAN/Ethernet, and Zigbee SEP 1.0 capable devices. From within the Blink Network, consumers will be able to locate Blink charging stations complete with GPS navigation, check charging station availability, and receive notifications of charge interruption and completion.
ECOtality’s Blink Electric Vehicle Home Charging Stations (approved for outdoor or indoor installation) gains wireless connectivity, through use of the Sprint Command Center, necessary to power the advanced capabilities of the Blink Network and ensure customer satisfaction.
The advantage of the advertising opportunities will be available through the Blink Ad Network, providing ad space on the Blink Pedestal Chargers and Blink DC Fast Chargers. Each Blink DC Fast Charger is equipped with a stunning, daylight readable, 42-inch colour LCD display, and a 7-inch LCD touch screen display on the Pedestal unit. Media content can be both tailored to specific markets and broadcast nationally across Blink Network charger locations. Additionally, the chargers offer retailers the ability to develop coordinated campaigns to display relevant content and promotions, extending the consumer experience from the charging station into their business.
As part of The Electric Vehicle Project, the largest rollout of Electric Vehicle infrastructure in history, ECOtality will monitor the energy usage and output of charging stations, to determine a viable method for mass adoption of electric vehicles and empower the smart grid. For ECOtality’s commercial charging stations, Sprint’s data network will also help to process a variety of electronic payments, and even deliver digital content for advertising and information. ECOtality is project manager of The Electric Vehicle Project and will oversee the installation of 15,000 commercial and residential charging stations in 16 cities and major metropolitan areas in six states and the District of Columbia. The project will provide an Electric Vehicle infrastructure to support the deployment of 8,300 Electric Vehicles. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through a federal stimulus grant of $114.8 million, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grants are matched by private investment, bringing the total value of the project to approximately $230 million.
