Network virtualization in its first implementations may be all about reducing cost, but most operators are also evaluating ways to harness their newly flexible networks to generate new services and revenues. They are also starting to look towards 5G and its concept of network slicing – creating virtualized slices of network capacity, dynamically and on-demand, with the characteristics and capabilities requested by a particular service, enterprise or MVNO. Amid all the unknowns and improbables about 5G, slicing is one of the ideas which could really define it – indeed, without it, many of the promises of 5G will be unfulfillable. This highlights how new architectures, based around NFV and SDN, are far more important to next generation networks than a…