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Solutions · ConnectEV Charger Connectivity — An Offline Charger Earns Nothing
Every networked charge point needs a live connection for OCPP — authentication, sessions, payments, remote management all stop when it drops. Most charging sites have no broadband, and the charger itself is a big metal box that strangles its own signal. TITAN IoT supplies the fix Irish installers and operators need: a 4G router, an external antenna mounted clear of the enclosure, and a SIM — staged in Galway per site.
Why Do EV Chargers Need Connectivity?
A networked EV charge point communicates with its Charging Station Management System over OCPP — the open protocol that handles user authentication, session start and stop, energy reporting, payment and remote commands. Without a live data connection the charger shows offline to drivers and the operator: payments fail, sessions can’t be authorised remotely, and faults go unseen. Since most charging locations — car parks, forecourts, kerbsides, depots — have no usable broadband, the standard answer is a dedicated 4G router with an external antenna and its own SIM, giving the charger a connection the operator controls.
OCPP traffic is small — the challenge isn’t bandwidth, it’s reliability. And reliability at a charge point is almost always an antenna question.
The Charger Is a Faraday Cage
Why “the charger keeps going offline” is nearly always the same fault.
The pattern that works: antenna outside the cabinet, router inside — the same install discipline as roadside ITS cabinets across Ireland.
Steel Enclosures Block Signal
A charge point is a sealed metal cabinet — exactly the wrong home for an internal antenna. Marginal signal outside the box becomes no signal inside it, and the charger drops offline intermittently, usually mid-session.
Electrical Noise Inside
The charger’s own power electronics generate interference right beside any internal antenna. Moving the antenna outside and away from the power cabling cleans the signal environment.
Bad Locations by Design
Underground car parks, kerbside cabinets with no line of sight to a mast, rural forecourts at the coverage edge — charging sites are routinely where signal is worst.
The Fix Is External
A compact external antenna mounted on or clear of the enclosure, cabled to the router inside, transforms marginal sites. It’s a one-hole install — and it’s the exact fix we’ve supplied to Irish charging installs.
Router + PUCK + SIM — The Charging-Site Stack
Two router options, one antenna answer, staged together per site.
Robustel R1510 — With Free Fleet Monitoring
Compact industrial 4G router, DIN-rail mount, dual Ethernet — serves one charger or a small bank through a switch. Its advantage for operators: free RCMS cloud monitoring for life — signal, data usage and online status for every site on one dashboard, at no platform cost. You see a charger’s connection die before the driver reports it.
View the R1510Teltonika RUT241 — The Compact Alternative
Teltonika’s proven compact 4G router — the unit in Teltonika’s own published EV-charging deployments. Small enough to live inside the charger cabinet or an adjacent enclosure, with the external antenna doing the signal work. A cost-effective fit where RMS-style management is already in use or single sites don’t need fleet tooling.
Browse 4G Routers
Poynting PUCK — The Antenna That Escapes the Box
Low-profile 2×2 MIMO antenna, one-hole mount on top of or beside the enclosure, IP-rated for life outdoors. It moves the antenna out of the Faraday cage and away from the electrical noise — the single change that fixes most “charger keeps dropping” sites. The pairing we ship with both routers.
View the PUCK-2Plus the SIM: multi-network IoT SIMs supplied and managed by us, or your operator’s — fitted and tested before dispatch either way. For the full antenna range beyond the PUCK, see the antenna selection guide.
You Install Chargers. We Do the Connectivity Layer.
Charge point installers shouldn’t need to become network engineers. Tell us the site — how many charge points, enclosure type, rough location — and the connectivity arrives as one staged kit: router configured for the CSMS, antenna and mount, SIM fitted and tested, labelled for the site. Your electrician mounts the antenna, connects power and Ethernet, and the charger comes up online. Volume pricing for rollout programmes, support from Galway after.
EV Charger Connectivity Questions, Answered
Why do EV chargers need an internet connection?
Networked charge points communicate with their management system over OCPP — handling authentication, session control, energy reporting, payments and remote commands. Without a live connection the charger shows offline: drivers can’t start paid sessions and operators can’t see or manage the unit.
Why does our charger keep going offline?
The most common cause is signal, not software: the charger’s metal enclosure blocks its internal antenna, and its power electronics add interference. An external antenna mounted on or clear of the cabinet, cabled to the router, resolves most intermittent-offline sites — it’s the first fix worth trying.
How much data does an EV charger use?
Very little — OCPP messages are small, so a site’s monthly usage is typically modest even across several charge points. Bandwidth is rarely the issue; connection reliability is, which is why the antenna and SIM choice matter more than the speed rating.
Can one router serve several charge points?
Yes — charge points on the same site can share one router over Ethernet, each with its own IP and OCPP connection to the management system. For larger hubs we scope throughput, but 4G comfortably carries typical multi-point sites.
Which SIM should go in the router?
Whatever serves the site best — our multi-network IoT SIMs where coverage flexibility matters, or your operator’s SIMs under an existing agreement. Either way we fit and test the SIM during staging so the site comes up first time.
Does this work where there’s no broadband at all?
Yes — that’s the standard case. The router’s cellular connection is the site’s connection; no fibre or DSL is needed. For locations at the far edge of coverage, higher-gain antennas from the wider Poynting range extend reach — we spec per site.
Put Your Chargers Online — and Keep Them There
One site or a rollout programme — routers, antennas and SIMs staged together from Galway.
TITAN IoT Ltd · Racecourse Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway, H91 A9NN
+353 91 757500 · iot@titan.ie