The Telecommunications Industry Association backs a deal among...

The Telecommunications Industry Association backs a deal among multichannel video programming distributors, those supplying them with consumer electronics and advocates of energy efficiency to further cut the power used by dormant set-top boxes. TIA also backs the Department of Energy decision disclosed late last month, along with the MVPD/CE/advocate deal (CD Dec 24 p1), to kill a rulemaking on set-top energy efficiency standards, said the association Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1aBOYDV). The information and communication technology industry “is committed to continually innovating and improving the energy efficiency of our products,” said President Grant Seiffert of TIA, which has members including Apple, Intel, Microsoft and Panasonic of North America (http://bit.ly/1aaOPe2). The voluntary agreement that was expanded with the latest deal “will result in greater energy efficiency gains for consumers than could be achieved through federal guidelines,” he said. “It will also provide manufacturers with the flexibility to continue to innovate and develop the consumer products of the future."