Well, it can't be completely dumb and still support billing. There are several competing factors here: - They want to support billing - which requires network

Well, it can't be completely dumb and still support billing. There are several competing factors here: - They want to support billing - which requires network access, at least for the station itself - They want to minimize the cost of the station both up front and maintenance. Fewer cables and accessories (eg, card readers) helps a lot here - Much of their target audience is inside of parking garages where cell reception can be spotty. This means mesh is a must and bluetooth for client connectivity is best. - They need to have power metering built-in and there are related regulatory concerns due to usage based billing All of this means that it can't be a truly dumb device. What they've come up with is essentially the lowest cost solution that can possibly work.