Energy-efficient universal mobile phone charger soon: ITU

An energy efficient standard charger that can be used for all mobile phones will soon to be launched in the global market according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology (ICT) issues.

The ITU made the announcement to the effect on the first day of World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-10) today. It said that the standard mobile phone charger was ready to be introduced in the market. The new Universal Charging Solution (UCS) underlines the ICT's role as a provider of climate change mitigating solutions. 

Malcolm Johnson, director, ITU's Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau (TSB), told reporters on the sidelines of the conference in Hyderabad that it represented a significant step in reducing the environmental impact of mobile charging.

The UCS would reduce 13.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually in addition to 82,000 tonnes of redundant chargers, he added.

According to Johnson, the telecom industry led the development of UCS and would therefore be universally accepted by the telecom companies.

With the technology, the same charger model would be used for all future handsets regardless of make thanks to standardisation of technology.

The new standard would allow users worldwide to charge their mobiles anywhere from any available charger, while at the same time cutting energy consumption while charging.