In the wake of the substantial financial commitments incurred by European and other UMTS network operators in the form of license fees, licensees have turned to network sharing as a means of reducing the capital requirements needed to bring 3G services to market. The reception from European regulators has been mixed, due to concerns that this inhibits competition, slow build-out, or otherwise result in reduced consumer benefits. The authors believe that the generic product life-cycle model provides insights that indicate that network sharing, within an appropriately constructed regulatory framework, is not a threat to vigorous competition in the 3G industry, and in fact, is one of the keys to stimulating the development of advanced, ubiquitous, affordable services.