The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® and The Internet & Television Association (NCTA) welcome two additional leading manufacturers, ASUS and Belkin, as the latest signatories to their landmark energy voluntary agreement for home internet devices.
Since the agreement’s launch in 2015, broadband service providers and equipment manufacturers have successfully committed to meeting rigorous energy-efficiency levels in all equipment purchases and retail sales.
According to the latest independent report, nearly all (99.6%) of internet modems, routers and other equipment purchased and sold in 2018 for use by U.S. residential broadband subscribers met the agreement’s energy-efficiency levels. New, even more rigorous energy-efficiency levels became effective in 2020.
Voluntary agreements enable consumers to reap the benefits of both energy efficiency and innovation by maintaining rigor but permitting flexibility for new features and innovation. The home networking voluntary agreement’s dynamic approach to energy efficiency goals has enabled manufacturers and service providers to continue to test and deploy new features and technologies, such as DOCSIS 3.1 and Wi-Fi 6, that support much higher bandwidth to the home and better Wi-Fi range, capacity and support for the growing number of connected devices within the home, respectively.
The voluntary agreement has maintained and improved energy efficiency in home network devices even as more homes across the U.S. connect to the internet and consumers demand more powerful and capable devices.
The voluntary agreement participants test the power of all new equipment using an industry-standard test method and post the results so that consumers can make informed selections about the equipment they choose to use and buy. The credibility of the process is assured through independent reviews, lab verification and audits.
In 2019, Environmental Leader named the SNE agreement a Project of the Year, recognizing its ability to achieve energy efficiency in a rapidly evolving product category.
The Small Network Equipment Voluntary Agreement builds on the success of a similar voluntary agreement for set-top boxes endorsed by the U.S. Department of Energy.
For more information on the industry’s voluntary agreements and energy efficiency efforts, including a complete list of participants, visit www.energy-efficiency.us.