In June, the European Union (EU) approved the standardization of the USB-C connector for all cell phones sold in the Bloc, made up of 27 members. Brazil can follow the same steps – and this will impact electronics manufacturers in the country.
In the same month that the EU approved standardization, the Anatel opened a public consultation About the subject. In October, Senator Carlos Fávaro (PSD-MT) presented a bill (PL) that assigns the role of defining USB-C as the standard interface for smartphones to the Agency.
PL foresees to amend the General Telecommunications Law
As is clear (for anyone who has ever bought a smartphone in Brazil), there is no standardization of cell phone charging in Brazil. At least not in our legislation. iPhones use the Lightning connector, Android can use USB-C or Micro USB — it depends on the manufacturer.
Despite the differences, some manufacturers are already “standardizing” on their own, no longer leaving the USB-C separation for more premium models. However, the PL wants to force all manufacturers to have the same connector.
If the bill is approved, Law 9,472, approved in 1997, will include a new article — Art. 78-A. The text proposed by Senator Carlos Fávaro includes the following wording:
“Art. 78-A. The Agency will define a single standard for the USB Type-C cable charging interface for mobile cell phones.
§ 1 The implementation of the single cable charging interface standard will be carried out under the conditions and deadlines established in the regulation.
§ 2 The homologation of cellular mobile telephones and cable chargers shall comply with the provisions of this article.”
In the caput (text that defines the article) of Art.78-A, Anatel will be responsible for defining USB-C as the standard for charging smartphones. O Technoblog contacted Anatel to obtain more information about the project. However, the Agency informed that it is debating the theme in international meetingsand only when it arrives at a definition about what will it be able to manifest itself.
So we are left with speculation. Given Brazil’s history of analyzing international legislation, it is likely that Anatel is evaluating the standardization adopted in Europe — which was mentioned by Senator Carlos Fávaro in the justification part of your PL🇧🇷
O Technoblog tried to contact the senator for three weeks, but we did not get answers to the questions sent. Fávaro is on the federal government’s transition team and is tipped for the ministry of agriculture.
What do the manufacturers say?
In Brazil, some of the companies that will be affected in case of approval of the law are Apple and Multi (formerly Multilaser). For the TechnoblogSamsung and Motorola explained that all their smartphones already use the USB-C port.
In response to Technoblog, Apple Brasil said it “will not grant an interview on this topic at this time”. However, in October, Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of global marketing, said that the company will follow European legislation, adopting USB-C on iPhones – it remains to be seen when. EU law requires all smartphones released after September 2024 to use the standard connector.
Fabiano Favero, Multi’s mobile director, told the Technoblog that the company has 50% of the line of smartphones with USB-C – and new products will receive support for the connector.
“Our line of Tablets is already 100% migrated and our line of smartphones, practically 50% of the volume is already USB-C and the new models that are in development and production as well”, said Favero. The company will have 100% of cell phones with USB-C connector in 2024
Regarding a possible impact on smartphone costs, Favero explained to the Technoblog that there will be no price changes. Multi’s mobile director points out that the cost only happens when there is a change during the project (of a smartphone). However, the company is including the use of USB-C from the beginning of development.
With information: The Guardian
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/12/02/usb-c-padrao-no-brasil-tema-e-debatido-pela-anatel-e-antecipado-por-marcas/