The nineteenth century witnessed restoration and reformation, the heyday of the nation state in Europe and inter-state cooperation at the same time. Driven by technical progress, communication across borders became an everyday phenomenon demanding transnational cooperation and regulation. Whereas in the political field irregular conferences turned out to be an appropriate instrument for governing transnational cooperation, a more constant and institutionalised matter proved to be adequate for technical cooperation. In 1865, the International Telegraph Convention set up a relevant administrative union which merged in 1932 with the International Radiotelegraph Union from 1906 to form the newly labelled International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The parties to the ITU met regularly in so-called plenipotentiary conferences every 3 years. Already in 1875 the International Telegraph Convention was completely redrafted and the organisation’s structure changed. The contracting parties created an instrument that paved the way for a modern form of international standard setting. The new, simplified convention contained only general provisions of a policy nature that would remain in effect for an “indeterminate length of time” (Art. 20), detailed rules of a transitory and specific nature that might be subject to frequent changes with the progress of technology were put into the “Regulations for international service” (also known as the Telegraph Regulations). The newly established “administrative conferences” attended by technical experts from the member states were responsible for revising the regulations when necessary. This was an early example of the transferral of power from sovereign nation states to an international organisation in order to govern transnational communication effectively. The administrative unions, as the first examples in modern history, show the ability of self-interested rational agents to overcome collective action dilemmas, i.e. situations where cooperation avoids sub-optimal outcomes for cooperators. The newly created institutions shaped a spirit of cooperation and the practice of standard setting proved that cooperation is effective. Furthermore, they show the spill-over effects of cooperation: increased cooperation in one area leads to increased cooperation in other areas.