Cellphone Makers Agree to Universal Charger

According to a report by the New York Times, the world's ten major mobile phone manufacturers have agreed to produce a universal charger for users across Europe, with the first such chargers expected to be introduced on the EU market next year.

On Monday, the European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch, said that it had reached a voluntary agreement with some of the biggest names in the electronics industry to introduce a common charger for cellphones that fits all models.

Chargers had become a problem because “almost every household has a collection of chargers that have become superfluous over time” and because “old chargers currently generate several thousands of tons of waste a year,” said Guenther Verheugen, the E.U. commissioner for enterprise and industry.

New phones configured to use the standardized chargers should be available in 2010 and they would work on the basis of “micro-USB connector” technology, Mr. Verheugen said, adding that he expected that technology to become a global standard and to spread to other consumer electronics like computers and cameras in coming years.

The new technology could mean chargers would eventually be sold separately from new phones. Supporters of the initiative suggested that it could save consumers money as well as help cut waste.

At the moment there are more than 30 different types of chargers for phones across Europe, as specific mobile phones are sold with their specific chargers. Making the situation worse, anyone who wants to change their mobile phone needs to throw away the old charger as well.

NY Times reported that the ten major mobile phone producers representing the vast majority of the E.U. market – Apple, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, NEC, Research In Motion, Samsung and LG – have pledged to participate in the voluntary agreement, according to Mr. Harbour.

(June 30, 2009)

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