EV Charging is the Next Wi-Fi

Many of us can still remember a time before free public Wi-Fi. Back then, some experts decided that offering Wi-Fi would never be profitable and that the setup cost would never be earned back. Articles online confidently predicted that businesses betting on Wi-Fi would fail.

One of those pieces came from a journalist weighing whether cities should provide Wi-Fi to the public at large in 2005, a step toward more accessible connectivity for everyone.

Fast forward to today, and Wi-Fi is woven into the culture. We almost subconsciously expect it in cafes, hotels, and even public transportation. It is no longer a question of whether your business should offer Wi-Fi. It just does.

Sound familiar?

It should, because we are living through the early-2020s version of that same argument. Only now it is the EV charging debate:

• Should EV charging become publicly available to all?
• Who will set up the infrastructure for that?
• How will free charging ever be profitable?
• Isn’t it too expensive for me to put on my property?

Twenty years ago, that exact list read like this:

• Should Wi-Fi become publicly available to all?
• Who will set up the infrastructure for that?
• How will free Wi-Fi ever be profitable?
• Isn’t it too expensive for me to put on my property?

Now flip the lens

Reading those questions through the Wi-Fi version gives them an air of silliness, because we already know how the story ended.

Of course Wi-Fi should be publicly available to everyone. We need it to work, to play, and to stay connected with the people we love. Businesses set up a router and modem, or hire someone to do it. Customers treat Wi-Fi as an everyday amenity, something they rely on to move through life comfortably. Yes, there is a higher internet bill that comes with offering it for free, but it is quickly offset by the extra traffic and sales that come with it.

If you walked into a coffee shop today to get some work done and there was no Wi-Fi, would you go back next time? Probably not. It is simply more convenient to go somewhere else.

Where we will be in twenty years

In two decades, we could be having this very same conversation, except EV charging will be the obvious amenity nobody would dream of questioning. Here is roughly where we will land:

Of course EV charging should be publicly available to everyone. We need it to get from place to place. Businesses just hire a company to put a couple of ports in the parking lot. Customers treat charging as an everyday amenity, something they rely on to move through life comfortably. Yes, there is a higher electricity bill that comes with offering it, but it is quickly offset by the extra traffic and sales that come with it.

The bottom line

The growth of the EV market has already answered the biggest question: chargers are here to stay. The only real question left is when your property will be ready to welcome them.

That is the part we handle. Talk to EvolvedEV about adding EV charging to your site, from picking the right hardware to installing it and keeping it running, so you are ready for the amenity your customers will soon expect by default.