The CTA and the Internet Television Association (NCTA) have been working closely with service providers and Internet manufacturers for several years to improve the energy efficiency of pay-TV and broadband and save consumers money. The pioneering voluntary agreement on continuous improvement of energy efficiency of set-top boxes (STB) adopted in 2012, for example, has improved the energy efficiency of STBs year after year, while promoting innovation and competition. With signatories representing more than 90% of the U.S. pay-TV market and major manufacturers, the agreement has helped transform the consumer energy efficiency sector`s approach to energy efficiency by stimulating industry-wide innovation and sustainability improvements. Following the success of the STB agreement, the CTA and NCTA signed the voluntary agreement on continuous improvement of the energy efficiency of small network equipment (SNE) in 2015. The aim is to improve the energy efficiency of equipment used to access broadband internet access services for individuals, while encouraging rapid innovation and the timely introduction of new features for consumers. Participants included all of the country`s largest Internet service providers (Altice, AT-T, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Frontier and Verizon) as well as major manufacturers (Actiontec, ARRIS, Netgear, Technicolor and Ubee). CableLabs® has also played a leading role in researching and developing energy efficiency strategies and supporting the ongoing implementation of voluntary agreements. A new CTA report finds that while the number of technical devices in our homes is increasing, their share of total energy consumption continues to decline. Today, U.S. household consumer technology devices consume 25% less energy than in 2010. Doug Johnson, CTA`s vice-president of technology policy, said: “CTA believes that voluntary market-based initiatives are the most effective way to promote and achieve significant energy efficiency gains.” The European Commission monitors and evaluates the agreement as it must meet certain criteria of the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC).