Just weeks after IBM announced that Dish Network would use its AI-powered automation software (see separate item in Special Report), Telefónica has joined the party, and will use the same IBM software and services to implement its cloud-native 5G core network, UNICA Next. IBM said UNICA Next will give Telefónica the “agility, reliability, and efficiency required to manage its services and prepare for a future where 5G will transform core network functions”; while Javier Gutierrez, director of strategy, network and IT development for Telefónica, added: “Building out the UNICA Next platform with its next generation network architecture shows how important it is to build the infrastructure now to support the deployment of 5G.” The IBM Global Telco Solutions Lab in…