ICT Code of Conduct for Digital TV Services

Expectations are that equipment for the reception, decoding and interactive processing of digital broadcasting and related services will contribute substantially to the electricity consumption of households in European Community in the near future. Depending on the penetration level, the specifications of the equipment and the requirements of the service provider, a total European consumption of up to 23 TWh per year can be estimated. With the general principles and actions resulting from the implementation of this Code of Conduct the (maximum) electricity consumption could be limited to 15 TWh per year, this is equivalent to total saving of about 750 Million EURO per year.

The potential new electrical load represented by this equipment poses a problem for EU energy and environmental policies. It is important that the electrical efficiency of equipment required to support digital TV and related services is maximised.

To help all parties to address the issue of energy efficiency whilst avoiding competitive pressures to raise energy consumption of equipment all service providers, equipment and component manufacturers are invited to sign this Code of Conduct. Taking into account that the energy consumption of the equipment is influenced by the services offered, the number of features as well as the components used.

This Code of Conduct sets out the basic principles to be followed by all parties involved in digital TV services, operating in the European Community in respect of energy efficient equipment.

List of Participants