If we judged only by the two largest network vendors’ first statements of 2023, we might see a surprising role reversal looming. Ericsson, after a generally robust year in 2022, said before the holiday that it expected the RAN market to be flat for at least three years, and has now announced it will trim back its relatively new cloud and software business unit. Meanwhile Huawei, which has been struggling the face of trade sanctions and 5G operator defections, claimed it had halted its revenue decline and was back to “business as usual”. Of course, these are just two isolated statements and whether the contrast in fortunes is broad-based, or will persist through the year, will be easier to judge…