With over 35,000 charging points at more than 12,500 locations, Allego has one of the largest high-performance charging networks in Europe. Whether you're in a rural area or a busy city, in 16 European countries, there's almost always a charging point nearby. "It's our job to ensure that they're always operational so that customers don't experience any issues with (fast) charging," says Roel van der Linden, Head of Procurement & Supply Chain Management at Allego.

According to Van der Linden, Allego has more ways to monitor its charging stations. Through the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), the stations are connected to Allego's central management system. "If something goes wrong with a charging station, we see it immediately. Additionally, charging stations are becoming smarter with sensors. By analyzing sensor data, we can predict problems and intervene proactively."

Reliable Connections

"We want to know at all times exactly how our charging stations are performing. For that, we need a continuous, stable, and reliable connection in all the countries where we operate," explains Joost Groeneveld, Head of Operations at Allego.

This connection is crucial not only for monitoring but also for authorizing charging sessions and billing. Groeneveld says, "All these processes happen within milliseconds. And when a customer calls with a problem, we want to have real-time insight into the status of the charging station."

International coverage with integrated SIM cards

In terms of connectivity, Allego has been working with kpn IoT for years. "Kpn IoT can provide a comprehensive network in all the countries where we are active," says Groeneveld.

"We prefer to work with a single supplier on a European level," he continues. "That way, you only need to invest once in setting up the connections, and you can centrally manage all the SIM cards. In our case, this is done through kpn IoT's Control Center. Additionally, we trust kpn to ensure secure connections, which is essential for our operations."

IoT knowledge partner

"Kpn IoT is more than just a connectivity provider for us; they are also our knowledge partner," emphasizes Groeneveld. "There's always someone available to help us when we have questions."

"Kpn has also provided us with excellent advice on modem specifications," adds Van der Linden. "Their technological insights help us refine our requirements and ensure better connectivity. We also appreciate that kpn IoT is an open organization, which makes collaboration easy."

From a SIM card to a future-proof eSIM

A potential next step is replacing physical SIM cards with their digital counterpart, the eSIM. Van der Linden explains, "Currently, we order the SIM cards from kpn IoT, and the charging station manufacturer installs them before the stations are shipped to their locations. With eSIM, this process becomes simpler: the digital SIM card is already in the modem, and we can configure the connectivity by placing a profile on it. This saves a lot of time."

"Thanks to kpn IoT, we don't experience any connectivity issues with our charging stations in any country," concludes Groeneveld. "In fact, the connections are getting better, which is crucial for our growth in Europe."