CASE STUDY
Unstable EV chargers — and wide open on the network
24 chargers with SIM cards, near-zero mobile coverage in the concrete basement and static IP addresses exposed straight to the internet. Here is how we cleaned up a site that was neither stable nor safe.
The situation
An unnamed charging provider had 24 EV chargers spread across three floors in a concrete parking garage. Each charger communicated via its own SIM card. Mobile coverage in the building was near zero — especially on the lower levels — and the chargers kept dropping off the network.
The result was that the app showed chargers as available, but when the driver arrived the charger did not respond. Several customers had planned their trip around this exact charging stop and were left with a blinking error light. Operations had no overview — failures were discovered by customers, not by the system.
What we found
- Mobile coverage in the parking garage was near zero at basement level
- The SIM cards had static IP addresses exposed directly to the internet — with no firewall or access control
- In principle, anyone could reach the chargers' administration interface
- No central management, no logging, no automatic alerts on failure
- An unused fibre connection point lay only 40 metres away — never taken into use
Chargers exposed directly to the internet is not just a reliability problem — it is a security liability. Anyone who found the address could in principle reach the administration interface of the chargers.
The solution
We ran fibre from the unused connection point into the building and installed industrial ceiling-mounted access points on all three floors — designed for thick concrete environments.
The SIM cards were deactivated. All chargers were connected to the new network via a dedicated, firewall-protected segment. The static, exposed IP addresses were replaced with a closed network with no external access without authentication.
Finally, operations received a central dashboard with real-time status on all 24 chargers, automatic fault alerts and full session logging.
The result
We did not know the chargers were wide open on the network — that was uncomfortable to hear. But more importantly: now they actually work. Customers no longer complain, and we no longer have to run down to the basement every time something blinks red.