The discussion that European Union gave about a universal charging port for mobile devices could happen soon Latin America. While the adoption of USB-C standard remains stationary in the old continent and the United States is discussing it in the Senate, Brazil it would be the first of the countries in the region to join this trend.

According to the Tecnoblog site, the telecommunications regulator of that country Antel has launched a public consultation in which it is presented a proposal to make USB-C the charging standard for mobile devices in Brazil.

The text of the consultation reads verbatim: “Aware of the aforementioned movements in the international market, Anatel’s technical area has assessed the issue and presented a proposal with a similar approach for application in the Brazilian market”

With the launch of this proposal, Brazil becomes the third region (the first in South America) interested in imposing a widespread charging standard on smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system.

Antel’s consultation is expected to be available until August 26. Once the results have been delivered, it will be decided to issue a formal regulation in this regard.

Apple on the ropes in Brazil and the United States

With these movements, the only thing that is clear is that the pressure on Apple to eliminate its iconic Lightning port is stronger in more and more countries.

For now, there are no confirmations of how the Cupertino company will act in the face of the interest of countries such as Brazil. Despite the mandate already approved in the European Union, Apple has a couple of years to find a solution regarding the charging pin of its mobile devices.

Some analysts point to this Apple is ready for the leap to USB-Cwhere it is rumored that it has already carried out some tests on the iPhone in order to bring this port to other devices such as the Magic Mouse.

On the other hand, a group of senators urged the United States Department of Commerce in early June to to adopt similar policy intended to address the “lack of interoperability standards for charging and other device accessories”.

The letter, signed by Senators Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, also claims that having different standards on smartphones generates more electronic waste and environmental damage, harming consumers who have to buy new chargers. Senators called Apple’s Lightning Connector an “example of planned obsolescence.”

It is unclear when or even if the US government will push through the senators’ request, but given the recent antitrust investigation involving Apple, it seems likely. Taking into account that The United States is Apple’s main marketthis would likely lead to Apple selling a USB-C iPhone everywhere.

Earlier this year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, both linked to leaks about Apple products, reported that the tech firm is currently producing internal testing with USB-C instead of Lightning on new iPhone models.

So far, nothing leads us to believe that Apple will launch an iPhone with a USB-C port in the keynote which is ahead of him at the end of the year, so he could wait until 2023 to make the switch.

SL