Washington — CTIA-The Wireless Association announced its support for a universal cellphone-charger standard that would enable consumers to use the same charger for any future handset that they buy.
The standard, called the Universal Charging Solution (UCS), uses the micro-USB-connector standard as its common charging interface and is expected to be available on new cellphones in January 2012, CTIA said.
The standard will simplify everyday phone usage by consumers, bit it also complies with U.S. Energy Star requirements for external power adapters, reducing standby-energy consumption by an estimated 50 percent, the association said.
The standard was developed by the Open Mobile Terminal Platform industry standards group and was adopted by the GSMA, the global mobile-communications trade group consisting of more than 750 carriers and 200 other companies, including handset makers.
