By Emeka Aginam

The International Telecommunication Union’s , (ITU) one-size fits all universal charging solution has been further improved to maximize the benefits for end users by extending its use to a wider variety of devices and making it even more energy efficient.

According to ITU in a statement, it will no longer be necessary to provide a new charger with every new ICT device. Considering that billions of these chargers will be made available in the market in the next few years, the new standard, ITU said will enable a significant global energy reduction.

ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré has said that , “Other standards claim to be universal and energy efficient, but only ITU’s solution is truly universal and a real step forward in addressing environmental and climate change issues. This updated standard, he said will bring the benefits of the universal charger to a wider range of devices and consumers.

“ I am sure it will be welcomed by all ITU’s membership – 192 governments and over 700 private sector entities,” he said.

The environmental impact of wide adoption will be enormous, he said, adding that this major improvement on a detachable cable with standardized end connectors will will allow connection to devices including all mobile phones and other hand-held devices (including MP3/MP4 players, tablet computers, cameras, wireless headphones, GPS devices etc).

“This also means that it can be used for data transfer, avoiding an unnecessary duplicate cable and thus further reducing costs and e-waste” he explained. ITU membership, according to him, also agreed to specify a no-load power consumption of the power adapter below 0.03W which is the most efficient available today.