BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) is to trial using telephone street cabinets as electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
A pilot programme will get underway in Scotland in the next few weeks with BT hoping that up to 60,000 of the iconic green metal cabinets eventually will be converted.
Britain is running well behind schedule on its roll-out programme for charging points and street telecoms cabinets are becoming redundant as BT extends its fast fibre network so it sees their adaptation as a neat solution.
According to the telco, a device can be fitted by engineers that allows renewable energy to be shared at a charge point with the existing broadband service without the need for a new connection as power is already being supplied.
Decommissioned cabinets will have one charge point per cabinet, which provides two charging sockets plus a battery backup
Tom Guy, CEO of Etc., BT Group’s incubation arm, said that this solution was a "huge step" in addressing the barriers customers face.
"Working closely with local councils in Scotland and more widely across the UK, we are at a critical stage of our journey in tackling a very real customer problem that sits at the heart of our wider purpose to connect for good," he said.
Car user groups also welcomed the initiative.
"Harnessing existing street furniture is a great way to increase the number of public EV charging points without further adding to clutter along our footpaths," Stuart Masson from The Car Expert told the BBC.
BT will formally unveil its plans at the international tech trade show in Las Vegas.