Stuart Waine of Spry Fox Networks explains why cashless payment systems are unfit for purpose without a reliable mobile phone signal
Parking provision has historically been a low-margin business. However, as the world becomes increasingly digital and EV rollouts gain traction, conventional facilities are being given a new lease of life by becoming increasingly important revenue-generators for property managers/owners in busy urban areas.
Consumer and business carparks can help drive economic growth. More importantly, they are integral to general wellbeing because ensuring parking permit holders have access to dedicated parking spaces at home, at work or simply out and about reduces unnecessary stress and frustration. The (perceived) drawback is that regular carpark providers are having to overhaul their long-standing business models, swapping out coin machines for cashless alternatives in order to survive.
In tandem, as fossil fuel vehicles are being replaced by EV alternatives and IoT gains traction, these very same carparks are becoming the go-to destination for EV charging, parcel pickup points or simply to catch up with emails. These changing trends are also creating lucrative business opportunities. Apoca Parking AG, a leading parking management company, for example, is conducting a series of trials in the UK to provide drivers with cubicles to work in whilst their cars are charging, along with pop-up shops, cafes, and office space for start-ups. Payments to book a space and access the different facilities are made via a mobile App or a vehicle’s infotainment system.
The purpose of these high-tech carparks is twofold:
- To deliver heightened QoS to existing and new customers
- To empower parking providers to develop additional revenue streams through the provision of value-added services
Cash payments are no longer an option
Cashless payment systems are clearly the way forward in a tech driven world because they’re convenient, secure and generate a full audit trail. Integral to their functionality, however, is an uninterrupted mobile phone signal. Not only does this provide the high-speed internet access needed to support in-app transactions, all one-time authorisation codes (OTAC), a fundamental requirement to all “customer not present” transactions for validation and authentication purposes, are delivered via text message and not Wi-Fi as many would think. What’s more, the security associated with these transactions has been further heightened, with consumers required to approve payments in-app or via one-time pass codes delivered via text. The downside, however, is that if these systems are not working as they should, and with the nonacceptance of good old-fashioned cash, then drivers face the risk of being fined.
Considering that mobile phones are the go-to device for most cashless/contactless payment systems it is somewhat ironic that the biggest stumbling block to the reliable functionality of these next-generation payment systems is poor to non-existent mobile coverage in carparks in the first place, which begs the question why?
Why carparks are mobile dead zones
The biggest problem to the zero converge dilemma in carparks is their location. In busy urban areas, these facilities are either below street level or in large multistorey buildings constructed out of iron, steel, glass, and concrete. Location aside, the building materials used, not to mention the multiple ventilation points and ducts, dramatically reduce the penetration of mobile phone signals, particularly 4G and 5G ones, thus rendering most carparks mobile dead zones. Ensuring reliable mobile coverage above ground is difficult enough because physical obstructions, line of sight challenges, network capacity and weather conditions, all impact mobile signal strength. Providing reliable mobile coverage below ground takes these challenges to an entirely different level, yet this is where most cashless payment systems are located.
The outside network must be taken indoor or below ground
The only way to guarantee the levels of coverage needed for cashless payment transactions is by taking the outdoor network inside using third-party equipment and the end system will depend on building type, services needed and budgets available. Before you even get that far, central to the success of any installed solution is understanding the mobile coverage situation at street level. The only way to effectively achieve this is to carry out a detailed mobile site survey, and there are multiple ways to do this. Whilst there are numerous tools readily available, the vast majority do not provide the hierarchical view of the coverage situation. Moreover, they’re only able to provide information at network level. Mobile coverage as device level must also be considered if cashless payment systems are to perform optimally and deliver a positive end user experience.
The current gold standard is to automate the survey process using self-service tools and remotely analyse the different mobile networks and the different locations for service assurance and to keep costs down. It’s also important to remember that mobile coverage conditions are constantly moving targets and multiple factors including weather, capacity, total number of users etc will all impact signal strength. And if these considerations weren’t enough to contend with, carpark providers have no control over their customers’ chosen provider and so must cater for all bases.
Mobile repeater systems are carrier agnostic
The most straightforward way to improve mobile coverage in these challenging situations is to install a mobile repeater system. Unlike other mobile coverage systems (DAS, PICO CELL etc), mobile repeaters are carrier-agnostic, which means that they will be able to improve mobile coverage conditions regardless of the provider. Since the regulators changed the rules regarding their usage, the deployment of said repeaters is no longer the arduous task it once was. So long as the chosen system meets the required specification then installations can be up and running in just a few hours.
Digitization is redefining payment systems
Cash payment systems in carparks will soon be relegated to history but their demise is generating exciting new opportunities. Most cashless payment technologies are unfit for purpose without a reliable mobile phone signal, and this must be factored into their deployment from the outset. Mobile coverage isn’t just the enabler to cashless payments it’s integral to wider smart building technologies. This in turn is empowering forward thinking carpark providers to differentiate themselves by offering a range of value-added services over and above parking.
The author is Stuart Waine of Spry Fox Networks.
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