What you perceive as progress is just a sign of immaturity of an ecosystem. One player will ALWAYS move faster because he doesn't have to check with other participants, single-handedly self-defining specs and implementing them in own software. But reliance on this model will never allow another participants to enter, and it will always be a one-vendor vehicle.
Proper federated networks are ones that are already past this initial phase of fast progress and where participants have learned to work with each other.
Proper federated networks are ones that are already past this initial phase of fast progress and where participants have learned to work with each other.