Many vendors are talking up 5G as their way to a more profitable telecoms business after a period of intense competitive pressure and slowing operator spending. Ericsson, in particular, has placed many of its eggs in the 5G basket to effect a turnaround, and has shown some early signs of success, though even the Swedish giant admits that there is a risk of a hiatus in large 5G deals once the first group of early movers have built their first-stage networks. Cisco, which has also talked about 5G as a growth engine in the past, now has a very downbeat outlook for the technology, and for the service provider market in total, at least for the short to medium term.…