  The issue of market-based versus mandated standards has been addressed in
many settings. In most settings in which network effects are present,
compatibility across platforms has been a key determinant of the success or
failure of a particular technology. In the case of wireless telecommunications,
however, interconnection and the availability of the relevant infrastructure
can be a substitute for compatibility.
  In this paper, we examine the tradeoff between mandated standards and
interconnection. We first provide institutional background; we then empirically
examine whether, other things being equal, penetration rates were lower (or
higher) for countries with multiple incompatible digital standards. We finally
discuss the implications of our results for the current debate about 3G
standards, in which CDMA2000, which is backed mainly by US firms, competes with
WCDMA, which is backed by the European Community.
