Brian Reay wrote:
I'm no fan of DSTAR but how has it been kept 'in-house'? The overall
system isn't Icom's invention, in came out of work done by the JARL.

It has been kept "in the amateur radio house".
DMR is mainly used outside of that, so there is a source of surplus
equipment, a large market with competition, and some manufacturers that
make amateur equipment as a special version of devices they also sell
on their regular market. This makes it easier for them to sell devices
at a lower pricepoint than amateur radio equipment manufacturers can.