Harmonization

'The objective of ETSI is to produce and perform the maintenance of the technical standards and other deliverables which are required by its members. As a recognized European Standards organization, an important task shall be to produce and perform the maintenance of the technical standards which are necessary to achieve a large unified European market for telecommunications, other electronic communications networks and services and related areas.
At the international level, the Institute shall aim to contribute to world-wide standardization in the fields described above.' [ETSI Statutes, article 2 - see ETSI Directives]

ETSI standards contribute to a harmonized market for telecommunications networks and services.  This benefits:

• The manufacturer: he can sell the same equipment to many customers, including network operators and consumers in many countries.  He has one set of technical requirements which are recognized by authorities in many countries.
• The network operator, who can build equipment built by a number of different manufacturers and is not tied to a single supplier. He can increase the effective coverage of his network by connecting with other operators, so increasing his customer base and improving the services that he can provide.
• The consumer, who can buy equipment from many manufacturers and services from different operators at the level of price and performance that he wishes.
• The developer, who spreads the investment and the risk in development of new products and services.
• The investor, who benefits from increased market size, reduced costs and shared risks.