MOBILE PHONE COMMON CHARGER SIMPLIFIES LIFE FOR EU CONSUMERS

At a joint press conference today European Commission’s Vice-President, Antonio Tajani and DIGITALEUROPE Director General, Bridget Cosgrave, launched the European mobile phone common charger.

“The new European common charger is a major achievement for industry that will deliver benefits to millions of European mobile phone users,” said Cosgrave. The common charger, based on the Micro USB interface, will simplify the life of mobile phone users across Europe. “Consumers can now safely use a single charger with phones from various suppliers,” added Cosgrave.

Industry collaborated with the European Commission under a Memorandum of Understanding on the development of a common charger for Smart phones and data enabled mobile phones. “The availability of the European common charger is an exciting step forward. Fourteen companies have committed research and development resources to deliver a common charger under a Voluntary Agreement,” outlined Cosgrave.

“With the launch of this common charger, we can diminish the need for different chargers on the market as consumers will be able to re-use their chargers with future products,” pointed out Cosgrave. “This should help reduce electronic waste in the future and reduce the impact on the environment,” she confirmed.

With the publication of the European standard in December 2010, by CEN/CENELEC and ETSI, the European Standardisation Bodies, companies can now supply common chargers to their customers.

“This excellent collaboration has resulted in a publication of a global standard by the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) earlier this month. The European standard has now been published internationally, enabling companies from all around the world to develop compatible products,” Cosgrave concluded.

Manufacturers will announce the release dates in line with new product launches in the course of 2011.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Magali Merindol - DIGITALEUROPE, Communication Manager
T. +32 2 609 53 10
F. +32 2 609 53 39
M. +32 477 22 99 39
E. magali.merindol@digitaleurope.org

Natalia KUROP - DIGITALEUROPE, Director Communication & Marketing
T. +32 2 609 53 26
F. +32 2 609 53 39
M. +32 487 34 05 71
E. natalia.kurop@digitaleurope.org


BACKGROUND
From June 2009, fourteen major companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a common charger for data-enabled mobile phones. The MoU signatories are Apple, Atmel Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies, LGE, Motorola Mobility, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research In Motion (RIM), Samsung, Sony Ericsson, TCT Mobile, Texas Instruments.
On 29 December 2010, the European Standardisation Bodies CEN-CENELEC and ETSI published the standards for the development of the common mobile phone charger for data-enabled mobile phones as of 2011. The common charger solution is based in the Micro-USB connector technology. For phones that do not have a Micro-USB interface an adapter is allowed under the Memorandum of Understanding.
On 1 February 2011, the IEC – International Electrotechnical Commission - published the first global standard for common mobile phone charger.

LINKS
Memorandum of Understanding: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1049&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Press Release for the publication of the CEN/CENELEC and ETSI standard:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/1776
Press Release for the publication of the IEC Standard:
http://www.iec.ch/newslog/2011/nr0311.htm

ABOUT DIGITALEUROPE
DIGITALEUROPE is the voice of the European digital economy including information and communication technologies and consumer electronics. DIGITALEUROPE is dedicated to improving the business environment for the European digital technology industry and to promoting our sector’s contribution to economic growth and social progress in the European Union.
DIGITALEUROPE ensures industry participation in the development and implementation of EU policies. DIGITALEUROPE’s members include 57 global corporations and 37 national trade associations from across Europe. In total, 10,000 companies employing two million citizens and generating €1 trillion in revenues. Our website provides further information on our recent news and activities: http://www.digitaleurope.org

The membership of DIGITALEUROPE
Company Members:
Acer, Agilent, Alcatel-Lucent, AMD, APC by Schneider Electric, Apple, Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Brother, Buffalo, Canon, Cassidian, Cisco, Corning, Dassault Systems, Dell, Epson, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Ingram Micro, Intel, JVC, Kenwood, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, LG, Loewe, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Océ, Oki, Oracle, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Ricoh International, Samsung, Sanyo, SAP, Sharp, Siemens, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Technicolor, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Xerox.

National Trade Associations:
Austria: FEEI; Belgium: AGORIA; Bulgaria: BAIT; Cyprus: CITEA; Czech Republic: ASE; Denmark: DI ITEK, IT-BRANCHEN; Estonia: ITL; Finland: FFTI; France: SIMAVELEC; Germany: BITKOM, ZVEI; Greece: SEPE; Hungary: IVSZ; Ireland: ICT IRELAND; Lithuania: INFOBALT; Netherlands: ICT OFFICE, FIAR; Poland: KIGEIT, PIIT; Portugal: AGEFE, APDC; Romania: APDETIC; Slovakia: ITAS; Slovenia: GZS; Spain: AETIC, ASIMELEC; Sweden: IT&TELEKOMFÖRETAGEN; United Kingdom: INTELLECT; Belarus: INFOPARK; Norway: ABELIA, IKT NORGE; Switzerland: SWICO; Turkey: ECID, TESID, TÜBISAD; Ukraine: IT UKRAINE

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