New EU Law Calls For Mobile Phone Chargers To Be Standardised

An agreement between MEPs and the Council of the European Union have agreed that mobile phone manufacturers will be obliged to provide a common battery charger across Europe in a new ruling that covers radio equipment, that includes anything from phones, car keys with a remote, modems/routers and more. The law aims to ensure that the devices do not interfere with one another and to reduce unnecessary waste and cost for consumers.

“With this agreement we will find more safety under the Christmas tree. I am especially pleased that we agreed on the introduction of a common charger — although the Council and the Commission were hesitant at first. This will benefit the consumers”, said rapporteur Barbara Weiler following the negotiations with the Council.

There has already been a lot of standardisation in regards to phone chargers, with many now accepting Micro-USB, but there are still many exceptions and we imagine Apple are not going to be best pleased that you will be able to use a cable from another handset on their prized iPhones, instead of the stupidly over priced ones they like to sell, boo-hoo.

One the rules have been finalised, member states will have two years to transpose the rules into national law and manufacturers will then have another year to comply, so it could be 3-4 years before the transition is complete, but it certainly sounds like a great idea and our best bet would be that it will be the first major push for the new USB 3.1 format, although nothing has been detailed officially on what standard of cable and connection will actually be chosen.

Thank you Wired for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Wired.