Nope. Private industry would not standardize it nation or world wide. Government is best suited to standardize. It is different to set the broadcast technical standards than to regulate the content.
The FCC has always been populated by installed bureaucrats who wouldn’t know a megacycle from a mop. Witness over the decades how we almost ended up with mechanical TV, how they pretty much killed Du Mont, how we could’ve has stereo sound on our TV’s long before the mid ‘80’s, how they botched AM stereo, the IBOC debacle (especially concerning AM), how LPTV took a back seat to a handful of religious broadcasters and their translators (repeaters), et cetera ad nauseum.
And DTV doesn’t look all that great, despite the cheerleaders who can’t see the noise in titles and faces, etc.
No, I’ll take the FCC with a boulder of salt.
My error. I meant low power FM'ers.
Kinda like, "you don't standardize unless you federalize", eh? It seems that I recall that the VHS standard shook itself out of the VHS/BetaMax battle without federalization, and a hi-def DVD standard is well on it's privately-owned-Blue-Ray-way as well. Sorry, FRiend, I cannot agree. History proves otherwise: free markets work. The consumer IS smart enough to make his/her own choice.
Of course, federal standardization DID give us a mandated 1.5-gal-per-flush toilet. Insist on selling something other long enough and see if Gov't men with guns don't show up at your door. And let's not forget the federal "standards" that cause 80-year-old caucasian great-grannies to get stripped searched while swarthy-looking middle-eastern men shouting "Allah Akbar! Death to the Great Satan!" get a pass at the airport. Truly, federalization ALWAYS occurs to the benefit of the citizens, comrade! [/industrial-strength sarcasm]
As for "It is different to set the broadcast technical standards than to regulate the content.", I agree. But please Google "camel's nose under the tent".
Cheers!