Roaming

In the context of Electric Vehicles (EVs), roaming refers to the cooperation and data exchange between different EV service providers. This ensures that EV drivers can use any charging station with minimal technological, financial, or legal barriers.

Roaming Connection

A roaming connection is a technical link with an external roaming platform. This platform can represent a single roaming partner (peer-to-peer) or multiple partners (a hub). Roaming connections rely on communication protocols, often using OCPI (Open Charge Point Interface). Roaming connections are sometimes also used for internal charge sessions, where the MSP and the CPO are the same organization. TandemDrive operators manage the technical configuration and infrastructure of these roaming connections.

Roaming Partner

A roaming partner is an entity with whom you can establish a roaming agreement. This partner can be either an MSP, a CPO, or both. Roaming partners exchange data such as authorized charging tokens, charge station information and charge session details. A roaming partner can have multiple CPO ID’s and/or multiple MSP ID’s.

Roaming Agreement

A roaming agreement is a formal contract between different EV service providers, such as MSPs and CPOs, that allows customers from one provider to access the charging infrastructure of another.

Roaming CPO ID and MSP ID

Each roaming partner is identified by one or more “party IDs”, which are registered with EV identifier providers. These IDs consist of a country code followed by three characters (e.g., NL-TDR), with an optional separator between the two. These party IDs are crucial as they are used to assign tokens and charge points, enabling roaming partners to communicate with the correct entity.