The U.S. wireless industry association said that American consumers would likely see a universal cellphone charger sooner than expected, due, in part, to a recent European initiative.
The announcement came one day after top cellphone makers, including
CTIA, a Washington, D.C.-based association that represents the wireless telecommunications industry, says the E.U. agreement will hasten similar efforts in the U.S. "If you're Motorola ... it wouldn't make sense to continue one process for U.S. phones and [another] process for European devices," says John Walls, vice president of public affairs for CTIA.
CTIA announced its support for a universal charger in April. At the time, the association said this "one-charger-fits all" (known formally as the "Universal Charging Solution" or UCS) would be ready by Jan. 1, 2012. On Tuesday, the association said it was not shifting the 2012 date but anticipates that manufacturers will institute changes before then. "We have said 2012 as a date for certain compliance, but it could very well happen sooner than that," Walls told Forbes.
The original 2012 deadline was designed to give manufacturers plenty of time to tweak their phone designs. A brand-new cellphone typically takes two years from conception to launch. CTIA decided to give phone makers two and a half years to complete the necessary engineering and standards work, says Walls.
In a country that sells 630 different types of cellphones, adopting a single type of charger could require the revamp of multiple inputs and outputs on masses of handsets. The industry has already settled the thorniest issue: what type of connector to use. As in Europe, it will be the popular Micro-USB format.
That still leaves a tangle of different battery types and power management systems to sort through. Cellphones, for instance, rely on chips to detect battery levels and coordinate responses, such as shutting off the electric current when full. Some phones currently house that chip in the charger itself or the phone's docking station. To accommodate a universal charger, that chip will need to be embedded in the phone, says CTIA.
Phones also run several kinds of batteries, ranging from lithium ion to lithium polymer to Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH).
Still, Ted Scardamalia, director of product analysis at research firm Portelligent, says standardizing is more a business consideration than an engineering puzzle. Proprietary chargers have long propped up sales of mobile accessories. The bulk of the work will center on setting the various standards, contends Scardamalia. "There are no huge technical challenges," he says.
The European initiative differs from American efforts in several key ways. The E.U. is, at least initially, only asking manufacturers to create a standard charger for data-enabled smart phones. CTIA, in contrast, wants the majority of U.S. handsets to use the new charger. "We're looking at the entire universe of phones," says Walls.
CTIA also wants U.S. cellphone suppliers to make their universal chargers more power-efficient. The standard, as defined by the Department of Energy's Energy Star program, means the chargers will consume about 50% less energy than their predecessors when in standby mode.
And while European Union officials helped broker the deal in Europe, CTIA doesn't foresee the U.S. government taking up the universal charger issue. "This is a market-driven initiative," says Walls. The association will "provide a hub for interested parties," but expects manufacturers to make the requisite adjustments independently, he adds.
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