Mobile industry agrees on standard charger

The mobile industry will adopt a common format for mobile phone connections and chargers

The GSM Association (GSMA) has revealed that the majority of mobile manufacturers and operators have agreed on a standard energy efficient Universal Charging Solution (UCS) to power all future devices.

GSMA chief executive Rob Conway said during the opening keynote of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that 17 leading operators and manufacturers had reached an agreement on Friday to adopt a common format for energy efficient mobile phone connections and chargers.

In what has been described as an unprecedented display of unity, the agreement on a specification is expected to cut standby energy consumption in half, and eliminate up to 51,000 tonnes of duplicate chargers.

By 1 January 2012 the majority of all new mobile phones will support a universal charging connector based on micro-USB, and the majority of new chargers will meet the high-efficiency targets set out by the Open Mobile Terminal Platform. The revelation brought a round of applause and whistles from conference attendees.

"The mobile industry has a pivotal role to play in tackling environmental issues, and this programme is an important step that could lead to huge savings in resources, not to mention convenience for consumers," said Conway.

"There is enormous potential in mobile to help people live and work in an eco-friendly way and, with the backing of some of the biggest names in the industry, this initiative will lead the way."

Conway explained that the agreement would lead not only to less power consumption, but to a reduction in the number of chargers being thrown away or created in the first place.

UCS chargers will also include a four star or higher efficiency rating, which is up to three times more energy efficient than an unrated charger. With potentially 50 per cent fewer chargers being manufactured each year, the industry can expect to reduce greenhouse gases in manufacturing and transportation by 13.6 to 21.8 million tonnes a year.

The initial group of companies that have joined the UCS initiative include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, Mobilkom Austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Noticeably absent from the list are Apple and HTC, despite the fact that HTC currently uses mini-USB for device charging and connectivity. There was also no mention as to whether there would be standardisation of charging or communicating over USB through the micro-USB connector.

The GSMA said that the initiative will also work with the wider operator and manufacturing communities to secure global participation and commitment, as well as educate the industry and promote the benefits of a universal charger via a targeted marketing campaign.