The reason suggested is that their key technical people are overloaded and are focused on short-term research that cannot be comfortably shared with others. It seems that ideas are kept confidential for a longer period of time and that increased workloads hinder volunteers from active society participation. The computer industry has benefited from rapid product evolution and de facto standards while telecommunication standards have generally been set by the de jure process. For example, the ISDN standard started in 1972 and took more than ten years to emerge. When it did, there were several versions before Bellcore settled on a national ISDN standard.
Interface standards are necessary for interoperability.
The Internet, over the last ten years, has grown exponentially. Instead, the Internet community governs itself. As the Telecom Act is implemented, single networks run by monopoly carriers will be replace by a network of networks run by literally hundreds of different companies. As it implements the Telecommunications Act, the FCC will make dozens of critical regulatory decisions which will impact how technology is developed and deployed. The goal is to accelerate not delay technology development and to avoid favoring one technology at the expense of another.