The Move Toward Universal Phone Chargers
Oct 26, 2009
According to News.com, the United Nation's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has approved a standard for a universal cellphone charger based on micro-USB technology.
You may remember that during last month's House oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) was so fired up about the need for a universal cellphone charger that he said he planned to introduce legislation to establish a uniform standard. Apart from making it inconvenient and more expensive for consumers to switch from one phone to another, Rep. Markey warned about the increased electronic waste created by obsolete chargers.
The European Commission has also been very critical of manufacturers for creating unique power chargers for each mobile device. In June, CNN reported that several leading device makers, including Apple, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, had made an agreement with the European Commission to start selling universal chargers by January 1, 2010.
The GSM Association, which helped the ITU develop the new standard, has estimated that the universal charger would eliminate 51,000 tons of redundant chargers and 13.6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Since use of the new standard is voluntary, we'll have to wait and see if industry adoption will be sufficient to avoid mandates from U.S. and European regulators.
Tags:
cellphone, e-waste, Ed Markey, energy efficiency, EU, European Commission, FCC, ITU, universal charger
