Telenor is the latest operator to dampen vendors’ hopes that 5G might drive a significant revival in their network equipment revenues. The Norwegian company said it has no plans to increase its overall capex spending this year, despite starting to prepare the ground for commercial 5G in 2020. The operator said, in its quarterly earnings statement, that it would invest between NOK16bn and NOK17bn ($1.9bn to $2bn) in capex in 2019, excluding spectrum licences, which would close to 2018’s figure of NOK16.8bn. It said its goal was to reduce its capex-to-sales ratio to about 15% in 2020, from 15.4% in 2017. Its priorities for those investments in 2019 will be network modernization in its home market – fiber expansion and…