Vodafone’s credentials as a champion of Open RAN were enhanced earlier this month when it announced a line-up of non-traditional vendors for its network build-out in the UK (see separate item). However, just a week later, it announced another UK supplier contract, for dual-mode 4G/5G core, and this went to a far more familiar face, Ericsson. Vodafone Germany is already working with Ericsson to deploy a cloud-based dual-mode core that can support 5G Standalone while working alongside the existing 4G core. Now the same platform will be adopted in the UK, and presumably other European markets, as the operator moves towards 5G Standalone. The UK deployment will take five years to complete, and Ericsson’s president for Europe and Latin America,…