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European decision supports move to universal mobile charger
ITU calls for global standard to be referenced
Geneva, 17 October 2013 – Members of the European Parliament
(MEPs) have embraced an opportunity to mandate the use of universal charging
solutions for mobile phones.
An amendment to the Radio Equipment Directive of the European Parliament will
require radio equipment – and in particular, mobile phones – to be compatible
with a universal charger. The decision builds on the European Commission’s 2009
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with fourteen major device manufacturers which
sealed a commitment to common standards for smartphones.
Now, with a short window of opportunity to revise the amendment, ITU is
issuing a call to include specific reference to ITU’s global Universal Charging
Solution (UCS), embodied in
Recommendation ITU-T L.1000. The standard is approved by 193 Member
States and around 700 private-sector companies, and has already been widely
adopted by many device manufacturers and supported by service providers around
the world.
Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, Secretary-General, ITU: “With ITU’s UCS we have a
common-sense remedy to the very challenging problem of e-waste that can be
applied to the widest possible range of mobile devices. I urge the European
Parliament to include specific reference to ITU’s globally agreed standard in
the future Directive. This will allow manufacturers to profit from lowering unit
costs of production through economies of scale while also limiting device
duplication, reducing the strain on raw materials and enabling significant
reductions in e-waste.”
The ITU UCS solution expands the application of external power adaptors
(EPAs) to the vast majority of mobile devices, encompassing 2G through to 4G
mobile phones and other handhelds including cordless phones, MP3/MP4 players,
tablet computers, cameras, wireless headphones, and GPS devices. The UCS
standard is built with the flexibility needed to account for differences in
regional requirements and prioritizes energy efficiency, an extended device
lifetime and the reduction of GHG emissions and e-waste.
Other features of ITU-T L.1000 include the specification of means to minimize
no-load power consumption (less than 0.15W), contributing to significant energy
savings. It also specifies that a detachable cable is mandatory, thereby
allowing for reuse of the charger and cable for a variety of mobile phones and
other devices.
With as many as 70 per cent of mobile phone users now owning standardized
chargers, an important next step will be to stop routinely shipping chargers
with new phones. Studies have shown that consumers are warming to the concept of
a universal charger and,
in a recent market trial,
UK operator O2 found that, given a choice, 82 per cent of customers purchased a
phone without a charger. The resulting savings in e-waste are potentially
enormous, with some estimating that consumers around the world throw away 82,000
tons of redundant chargers each year. Mandating the use of ITU’s universal
charger will have an enormously beneficial effect for developing countries,
which currently bear the brunt of the e-waste problem.
In addition to the ITU-T L.1000 standard for mobile devices, ITU has also
published a universal charging solution for stationary ICT devices such as
modems, set-top boxes, home networking equipment and fixed telephones.
Recommendation ITU-T L.1001 “External universal power adapter solutions
for stationary ICT devices” will further reduce the number of chargers
manufactured by widening the range of compatible devices, facilitating adapter
reuse and recycling, and increasing build-quality and resilience to
over-voltages. Designed to promote an adapter lifespan of at least ten years,
ITU-T L.1001 will limit device duplication, reduce strain on raw materials and
enable significant reductions in e-waste.
Find more on ITU’s standardization activities related to ICTs, the
environment and climate change here.
For more information,
please contact:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Toby Johnson
Senior Communication Officer, ITU
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