The high level of interest in open network architectures, triggered by operators’ need to transform their cost base in 5G, and intensified by the political stand-offs between the USA and China, is assumed to provide significant opportunities for new vendors. This is clearly true on several levels: A network in which the key interfaces are fully open allows an operator to mix and match equipment from different vendors. A network in which the functions are virtualized or containerized, and are neutral to the hardware underneath them, allows for the use of COTS white boxes in place of complex vertically integrated base stations, switches, routers and core appliances. If the virtual network functions (VNFs) are managed by open orchestrators, or by…