SLOUGH, U.K. -- Chargemaster Plc and Telefonica UK, which operates the O2 brand, today announce that they will be working together in the provision of electric vehicle charging services. The agreement initially sees Telefonica providing M2M (machine-to-machine) technology to connect Chargemaster’s UK-wide network of electric vehicle charging stations.

Launched last week, POLAR is the UK’s largest private sector-funded national charging network and has been developed by Chargemaster in close collaboration with motor manufacturers. Telefonica’s M2M offering will see sim cards embedded into each charging point, communicating back to a central database via the mobile network, ensuring that customers can quickly authorise themselves when using a charging point.

The agreement combines Chargemaster’s experience in electric charging with Telefonica’s mobile expertise, and will also see the two companies collaborate further in the development of services which provide simple and helpful solutions for customers to help stimulate the adoption of electric vehicle charging services. For example, services that allow customers to find their nearest charging point and pay for using it all via their mobile phone.

Telefónica UK Ltd.