Mobile operators are always calling for more spectrum to be made available – until an option emerges which is not under their control. In the US, the major MNOs are predictably hostile to arguments that the high frequency bands identified for 5G should all be unlicensed or shared, rather than licensed in the traditional way, a process in which the established operators have incumbent advantage. Facebook is vocal in making the case that 5G, to succeed in its aims, must support more flexible approaches to spectrum usage, so it enables a far wider range of services and providers. As Ovum consultant Mark Newman told last week’s 5G World conference in London: “If you think 5G is going to be radically…