European governments are very interested in the idea of national clouds that would support data sovereignty and privacy, guard against cyberattacks, and exclude Chinese technology. The national telcos are obvious partners in establishing such platforms, especially as they are themselves considering whether to invest in their own cloud infrastructure to support virtualized networks. That would give them greater control over their networks than a public cloud strategy like that of US operators AT&T or Dish. It would also enable them to monetize the cloud as well as supporting their own network functions. However, it would represent a major investment, and would place them in direct competition with the hyperscalers. One often discussed option is for several European groups to co-invest,…