InterDigital-driven energy consumption effort integrated within ITU-R Working Party 6C; Energy-focused innovation could extend to all consumer devices

WILMINGTON, Del., March 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC), a mobile and video technology research and development company, today announced that an InterDigital-driven energy consumption effort has been adopted within the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Following an InterDigital-led proposal, the ITU-R Working Party 6C (WP 6C), responsible for standardization in the areas of video and program production, agreed to integrate the challenge of energy consumption within the working group purview and appointed InterDigital’s Erik Reinhard as co-rapporteur of this important sustainability consideration.

The move by ITU-R WP 6C stems from one of InterDigital’s teams involved in advanced video technology submitting, in October 2020, a “question” on the energy footprint of the technologies they work to standardize. A “question” is the formal process by which a working group within ITU standards begins to examine an issue. InterDigital’s team was successful in getting the “question” adopted by the French delegation at the ITU. The ITU responded by agreeing to look at the issue and last week, ITU-R WP 6C formally extended its efforts to include energy consumption, again naming Mr. Reinhard co-rapporteur alongside Hemini Mehta of the European Broadcasting Union.

“At InterDigital we take pride in our efforts to further our sustainable and ESG commitments through our daily work. Today, we are especially proud of the leadership of InterDigital’s French delegation in ITU for spearheading this important effort and working to integrate sustainability into every aspect of our technological lives,” said InterDigital Imaging Science Lab Director Lionel Oisel. “While video and program production is a specialized area, the technologies developed there often eventually find their way into all consumer electronics and associated services, meaning that our innovations in that area could have a huge impact.”

As a longtime contributor to global standards, InterDigital maintains a strong presence within the ITU. InterDigital’s dedicated ITU contributors exploring advanced video technology represent the first to raise a question about the energy footprint of the technologies they standardize and led the development of a state-of-the-art report encouraging the consideration of energy and sustainability in overall standardization efforts. Findings show that the energy footprint of program production represent at least 12% of the total energy cost of a broadcast system and reiterate the significance of encouraging sustainability within these efforts.

To learn more about InterDigital’s commitment to understanding tech’s energy footprint from standardization to application, please visit the InterDigital Sustainability Microsite here.

About InterDigital®

InterDigital develops mobile and video technologies that are at the core of devices, networks, and services worldwide. We solve many of the industry's most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks, better video delivery, and richer multimedia experiences years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world's leading technology companies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on NASDAQ and is included in the S&P MidCap 400® index.

InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc.

For more information, visit: www.interdigital.com.