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The common external power supply (Common EPS) was a
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
(EC) specification for a universal charger for
smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...
sold within the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. The specification included the use of a USB Micro-B connector and adherence to the USB Battery Charging Specification. The purpose of the specification was to reduce waste and increase convenience for consumers. Common EPS started as an EC-sponsored agreement between manufacturers, and was formalised into a technical standard by relevant EU standardisation bodies. The specification EN/IEC 62684 was active from 2009 to 2014. Although compliance was voluntary, a majority of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers agreed to make their applicable mobile phones compatible. Apple, one of the major signatories, was still found to be in compliance despite using proprietary connectors for the
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
, since the specification allowed for the use of adaptors. To replace the obsolete specification, the European Union later passed the Radio Equipment Directive (2022), which requires new smartphones to use
USB-C USB-C, or USB Type-C, is a 24-pin reversible Electrical connector, connector (not a Communication protocol, protocol) that supersedes previous USB hardware#Connectors, USB connectors (also supersedes Mini DisplayPort and Lightning (connector) ...
by the end of 2024, and laptops by 2026.


Purpose

According to the European Commission, a common external power supply / "charger" standard is desirable because,


History

In June 2009, many of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers signed an EC-sponsored memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreeing to make most new data-enabled mobile phones marketed in the European Union compatible with a to-be-specified common EPS. All signatories agreed to develop a common specification for the EPS "to allow for full compatibility and safety of chargers and mobile phones." 14 mobile phone manufacturers and technology providers signed the MoU – the original 10 signatories,
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
, LG,
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
,
NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
,
Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...
,
Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...
, RIM,
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
,
Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc., originally Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, was a Multinational corporation, multinational consumer electronics and telecommunications company, best known for its Mobile phones, mobile phone products. The ...
, and
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...
as well as Atmel, Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies and TCT Mobile (Alcatel). To develop and formalize the needed technical standards, the Commission issued a standardisation mandate to CEN,
CENELEC CENELEC (; ) is responsible for European standardization in the area of electrical engineering. Together with ETSI (telecommunications) and CEN (other technical areas), it forms the European system for technical standardization. Standards harmon ...
and
ETSI The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, not-for-profit, standardization organization operating in the field of Information and communications technology, information and communications. ETSI supports the de ...
on a common "charging capability for mobile telephones." In response, CENELEC created a task force to develop the interoperability specifications of a common external power supply. In line with the Dresden agreement signed in 1996 by both CENELEC and the
International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; ) is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronics, electronic and related technologies. IEC standards cover a va ...
(IEC), work was transferred into the IEC. The standard was published by CENELEC in December 2010 as EN 62684:2010 "Interoperability specifications of common EPS for use with data-enabled mobile telephones" and by the IEC in January 2011 as IEC 62684:2011 (international publication was slightly delayed due to French translation) with a technical update to the IEC standard in 2018. The original Common EPS memorandum of understanding expired at the end of 2012. The Commission reported at the time that all of the fourteen MoU signatories, "have met their obligations under the MoU." Eight of the original MoU signatories signed a 2013 Letter of Intent (LoI) to extend the 2009 MoU another year and, in 2014, five of those companies (Apple, Blackberry, Huawei, Samsung and Sony) again signed a second Letter of Intent, effectively extending the MoU through the end of 2014.


Technical specifications


Reference to USB battery-charging specification

The common EPS specification relies heavily on existing
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...
electro-mechanical standards – especially the USB Battery Charging Specification. By the mid-2000s, many mobile phone manufacturers (as well as manufacturers of other small battery-powered devices) had already begun designing their products with the ability to use a USB port's 5 V DC power to recharge batteries. The
USB Implementers Forum USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF) is a nonprofit organization created to promote and maintain USB (Universal Serial Bus), a set of specifications and transmission procedures for a type of cable connection that has since become used widely fo ...
, recognizing this trend, updated the USB standard in 2007 to better accommodate this popular battery-charging application of USB ports, primarily by defining "charging ports" which can provide more current allowing faster re-charging of batteries. In November 2010, the IEC signed an agreement with the USB Implementers Forum, which led to the IEC incorporating USB specifications into the IEC 62684:2011 International Standard. In March 2011, the USB Implementers Forum agreed to allow CENELEC "... to make reference to USB technology in its European Standard EN 62684:2010 and ... to grant download access to USB technical specifications free of charge and at any time to manufacturers implementing this European ommon EPSStandard."


Cabling, connectors and adapters

A common EPS must include a cable with a micro USB-B (2.0) connector for connecting to a mobile phone. This cable can be either ''captive'' (permanently attached to the power supply) or detachable. If detachable, the cable must connect to the power supply via a standard USB type-A plug. The MoU which defines the common external power supply as well as the related EC standardisation mandate both allow for the use of the common external power supply also with phones not equipped with a micro-USB receptacle. "... oU4.2.1 ... if a manufacturer makes available an Adaptor from the Micro-USB connector of a Common EPS to a specific non-Micro-USB socket in the Mobile Phone, it shall constitute compliance to this article" and, "... An Adaptor can also be a detachable cable." The type of AC "plug" provided on a common EPS can vary depending on the intended market of use. "Per regulatory requirements for each market. ... preferred supplied input voltage range should be at least 90–264 V" (100–240 V ± 10%).


Reception

The common EPS initiative was generally well received by the public, although at least one European consumer group bemoaned the voluntary nature and narrow scope of the initiative (as it applies only to mobile phones and only those that are "handheld" and "data-enabled") and the fact that the EU's EPS specification does not set aggressive energy efficiency no-load consumption requirements. Some observers, noting Apple's continued use of proprietary, non-micro USB charging ports on their smartphones, suggested Apple was not in compliance with the 2009 Common EPS Memorandum of Understanding. The European Commission however, confirmed that all MoU signatories, "have met their obligations under the MoU," stating specifically, "Concerning Apple's previous and present proprietary connectors and their compatibility with the agreement, the MoU allows for the use of an adaptor without prescribing the conditions for its provision" and "The Commission does not have evidence that Apple has breached the oUagreement. The
iPhone 5 The iPhone 5 is a smartphone that was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the List of iPhone models, 6th generation iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 4s, and preceding both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. It was formally unveiled as part of ...
can be used with an adaptor allowing it to be connected to the common charger."


Later European legislation

In a 2013 amendment to a "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament … relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment", the European Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection included a recommendation for "... A renewed effort to develop a common charger ... einghighly desirable and consequently ... beneficial in particular for consumers and other end-users." The parliamentary proposal applies to all radio equipment (any "product which intentionally emits or receives radio waves for communication") including mobile phones, tablet computers, car door openers, modems, etc. Yet, the draft law (Directive 2014/53/EU), approved overwhelmingly by the European Parliament on 13 March 2014, stipulates that it will be up to the European Commission to decide which specific types of radio equipment will have to be compatible with common chargers. Once formally approved by the Council of Ministers, member states will have two years to transpose the new regulations into national laws and manufacturers will have an additional year after that to comply. In January 2020, the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
passed a resolution, calling upon the European Commission to adopt rules on the mandatory introduction of common chargers for all mobile devices. Specifically the resolution calls upon the European Commission to, "...take action to introduce the common charger by adopting the delegated act supplementing Directive 2014/53/EU on radio equipment defining a standard for a common charger for mobile phones and other small and medium-sized radio equipment by July 2020, or, if necessary, by adopting a legislative measure by July 2020 at the latest;..." In light of the declining popularity of the Micro USB connector and its limited power throughput relative to USB-C, in September 2021, the European Commission adopted a proposal to for a new directive, to update the existing Directive 2014/53/EU. The directive was approved by the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
and
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...
. The resulting directive, Radio Equipment Directive 2021/0291 requires all hand-held items sold from 2024 onward to have and be able to charge via a USB Type-C port. Manufacturers would also be required to offer consumers the option of purchasing their devices without any charging device.


Similar regional and global industry initiatives for mobile phone charging

Other mobile phone power supply and charging standards have been implemented in other parts of the world (e.g., Korea and China). Proposals for a global/industry-wide mobile phone charging solution have also been promoted by the
International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...
(ITU) and by industry organizations
GSMA The GSM Association (GSMA) is a Nonprofit organization, non-profit trade association that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide. More than 750 mobile operators are full GSMA members and a further 400 companies in the bro ...
and OMTP. The ITU and the GSMA/OMTP proposals are very similar to the European Common EPS and Chinese charger standards although the GSMA/OMTP proposal is less flexible and has not been adopted by as many phone manufacturers as has the EU standard.


See also

* Universal charger * Radio Equipment Directive 2021/0291


References


External links

USB battery charging:
Battery Charging v1.2 Spec. and Adopters Agreement
USB Implementers Forum, 2010-12-07. EU common External Power Supply:
One Charger For All.eu
, European Commission Enterprise and Industry Directorate – General
MoU regarding Harmonisation of a Charging Capability for Mobile Phones, 2009 June 5
*
Annex I, List of Signatories
*
Annex II, Technical Annex to MoU regarding the Harmonisation of a Charging Capability for Mobile Phones, 2010 January 12

M/455 EN – Standardisation mandate to CEN, CENELEC and ETSI on a common Charging Capability for Mobile Telephones, 2009 October 1
*
EN 62684:2010 "Interoperability specifications of common external power supply (EPS) for use with data-enabled mobile telephones"
*
EN 301489-34 V1.1.1 (Final draft 2010-05) "ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) standard for radio equipment and services – Part 34: Specific conditions for External Power Supply (EPS) for mobile phones"

Study on the Impact of the MoU on Harmonisation of Chargers for Mobile Telephones and to Assess Possible Future Options, Final Report...
2014 August 22 EU Future Directions
Directive 2014/53/EU ... relating to the making available on the market of radio equipment and repealing Directive 1999/5/EC.
Ref: item 12 ("Whereas… mobile phones… should be compatible with a common charger."), also Article 3.3(a), and Article 47.2(e)

Other (non-EU) initiatives: * GSMA Universal Charging Solution
OMTP COMMON CHARGING AND LOCAL DATA CONNECTIVITY V1.1
2012-05-12.
Recommendation ITU-T L.1000: "Universal power adapter and charger solution for mobile terminals and other hand-held ICT devices"
Edition 2.0, 2011-06-13
CCSA YD/T 1591–2006, "Technical Requirement and Test Method of Charger and Interface for Mobile Telecommunication Terminal Equipment"
, Published by the Ministry of Information and Industry (MII) of the People's Republic of China. 2006–12 {{DC power delivery standards Electronics and the environment Battery charging Mobile phone standards European Commission projects IEC standards