Despite the bright spotlight that falls on the 5G RAN, it is the 5G Core which will fulfil the true disruptive potential of the new network. Fully virtualized, and capable of slicing the network into a hundred specialized, virtual slices, the new core will give MNOs many options to allocate network resources flexibly and on-demand, so they can support very large numbers of services and industries in an agile way. However, the virtualized packet core, even before it gets to its 5G iteration, can also be a weapon for non-MNOs who want to steal a march in some of those high value vertical markets or services. The large operators have generally been slow to penetrate new industries, partly because of…