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[ultrarnr]

I live in North Carolina and over the past few months I noticed that many of the Greenlots DCFC systems were being turned off and being removed from Plugshare. Several  of these are in areas where there are no other DCFC options. So last night I was on Plugshare and noticed the icon for the Wadesboro DCFC was back on the web site and here is the message that was posted:

Brightfield-operated Signet fast chargers across NC are currently not operational. These older stations' communication systems run on 3G, which is phasing out nationally. Greenlots, the stations' network service provider, has decided to disable communications at all Signet chargers instead of upgrading the stations to 4G. As a result, Brightfield cannot communicate with, process payments at or operate the stations. WE ARE WORKING ON A SOLUTION. Brightfield is partnering with QwikCharge out of Atlanta, GA, to take over the operation and maintenance of the Signet chargers. QwikCharge is a premier EV charger service and maintenance company. They will upgrade the stations and provide the long-term service required. We expect to finalize our transaction with QuickCharge in January and have these stations back up and running by February. We at Brightfield are EV drivers too. We know the importance of these chargers and are frustrated by this situation. We apologize for the inconvenience.

I noticed there are several Greenlots systems in Richmond, VA that have been turned off and removed from Plugshare so this explains what is going on with those. I am sure there are Greenlots DCFC in other areas that are effected by this decision not to upgrade and simply turn off the DCFC system. On one hand you have to wonder why an EV charging company would simply turn off DCFC systems instead of upgrading the communication system in them. But Greenlots is owned by Shell and perhaps Shell thinks that fewer EV charging options is better for their core business.

[NEW2elec]

Well GA says thanks for the money. 

As for Shell they are putting chargers in all their stations in the UK and as far as I know they were the first major chain to do so.
It's law in the UK that all gas stations will have to have an EV station in a few years.  The Shell chargers were praised for being a simple swipe your credit card and charge system.  Pay for what you use and go.

[DonTom]

It's law in the UK that all gas stations will have to have an EV station in a few years.  The Shell chargers were praised for being a simple swipe your credit card and charge system.

I hope they pass such a law here in the USA! What a major difference that will make!

I find some of the Shell gas stations here in CA to have EV-GO  chargers, for CCS and CHAdeMO.

-Don-  Barstow, CA (RV)

[Crissa]

3G isn't being built out, but decommissioned?

There's lots of cellphones out there not compatible with the new networks, either.  3G is barely a decade in service.

I don't doubt a communication issue, but yuck.

Install costs of even low-power charging stations is not light but here in California the big hurdle is getting the power drop, not the machine on the end.
-Crissa

[Richard230]

And don't hold your breath for 5G service.  That is going to require a huge infrastructure expenditure for the cell phone companies and they will likely only perform that upgrade in large cities where they have a lot of well-off customers that can also afford new phones. 

[DonTom]

And don't hold your breath for 5G service.  That is going to require a huge infrastructure expenditure for the cell phone companies and they will likely only perform that upgrade in large cities where they have a lot of well-off customers that can also afford new phones.

How much faster will 5G be over 4G on the web?

I use a 4G V W/L portable hotspot to send these messages. Works just about  anywhere I have been except Big Bend Nat'L Park in Texas. There, I have to relay on satellite communications, such as my in-Reach.

I totally gave up on the free web services at RV parks. I don't even try to use them any more.

-Don-  Barstow, CA (RV)

[NEW2elec]

I see TV ads claiming it's 25X faster than 4G.

[DonTom]

I see TV ads claiming it's 25X faster than 4G.

Did they say "25 times faster" or "up to 25 times faster" ?

"Up to" is a common BS term as that could even include it being slower.

If it is  really 25 times faster, I would then be very impressed.

-Don-  Barstow, CA (RV)

[NEW2elec]

Well if you can get a clear signal it's 20X faster.  If not than it will be less.

https://5gversus4g.com/

[DonTom]

Well if you can get a clear signal it's 20X faster.  If not than it will be less.

https://5gversus4g.com/

Thanks for that! I see how it works as the new RF frequencies will be so ridiculously high that they can allow a lot more bandwidth. "Up to 300 GHZ" is really pushing RF limits. Used to be considered an experimental range where  hams (such as myself) could use any frequency up there.   I guess that is  changing.  I do expect some range problems up that high. The wavelength is extremely  short  meaning it will take a lot more wavelengths for the signal to get to us and is as directional as is light--but can bounce from some objects. But then you can get cancellation from multi-path, so that could be good or bad.   I do see some potential problems in trying to use frequencies up that high. I hope they can make it work better than I expect!

One thing for sure is it will work great when the signal is strong and nothing is moving. And I mean anything moving, such as us  or something in the path. And I mean a fraction of an inch of movement can make a very big difference in the quality of the RF  signal being received.

-Don-  Bartow, CA (RV)

[Curt]

Well if you can get a clear signal it's 20X faster.  If not than it will be less.

https://5gversus4g.com/

Funny, that page misses the primary benefit of 5G, which has little to do with mobile. Mobile phones do not need faster data!

It has to do with home and business Internet.
- Breaking the cable and telco physical infrastructure monopoly
- More providers offering service in more areas
- Getting 10x-50x speed improvement at home for cheaper

[Richard230]

The problem with 5G is that there will need to be a transmitter node every few hundred feet.  Probably one mounted of every streetlight or telephone pole.  Can you imagine how much that is going to cost and how long it will take to get 5G up and running for most people?  You can bet your bottom dollar that cell phone and data rates will be going up a lot when 5G becomes available. I hope it is worth it.  It is going to take high rates to make a return on that investment for the cell phone companies. 

[Crissa]

You need high node density anywhere you have high user density anyhow.

It doesn't matter if your protocol talks ten miles if the cell is capped out in users.

-Crissa

[Sklith]

A few months ago in Georgia, a Greenlots DCFC station near me with no fee charging fees was removed from Plugshare. I was bummed to think I lost a free method to fast-charge but a few days ago it came back up! There's still a busted Greenlots station even closer to my home that hasn't been working for 9 months, though.