Private cellular networks were a hot topic at the recent Mobile World Congress, as enterprises look to assert control over how their traffic is optimized and secured, especially as they move towards IoT applications. Of the large vendors, Nokia has seized this opportunity most eagerly with private LTE platforms for vertical markets like mining, and with cloud-hosted packet core services. By contrast, Ericsson has pulled away from the enterprise space, saying it will only target it in partnership with telcos, not in competition with them. However, it is stepping up its efforts to tap into the private cellular trend, even while keeping the MNOs close. Last week it talked about a partnership with Telia and Volvo to build an industrial…