ITU approves universal common mobile charger

A new energy-efficient universal mobile charger that will work with any mobile handset has been approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations body last week.

Currently all chargers are brand, product or model specific and mobile manufacturers ship out a new charger with every mobile handset. But the new Universal Charging Solution (UCS) will enable the same charger to be used for all future handsets, regardless of make and model.

The ITU says that the new UCS is expected to reduce standby energy consumption by 50 per cent and "eliminate 51,000 tonnes of redundant chargers, and a subsequent reduction of 13.6 million tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions each year.

The new charger will use the MicroUSB interface, a common interface already existing in many mobile handsets, which gives the consumer to the ability to transfer data from their PC to their handset.

The same MicroUSB interface will now be used to recharge the phone and UCS chargers will also include a 4-star or higher efficiency rating - up to three times more energy-efficient than an unrated charger.

The ITU was however silent on whether the universal charger will come with different power ratings since some countries like the US have 110V power outlets while other countries like India have 220V.