Just as 5G appears to be imminently real, both vendors and operators are getting cold feet. All three major network equipment suppliers have recently urged caution about the sharpness of the initial adoption curve. Many ‘5G’ services will start on LTE, said Nokia, while its major rivals have both admitted to concerns over whether the first, earlier-than-expected flurry of roll-outs will prove to be a false dawn, followed by a hiatus before a mass market starts to develop. Even operators which have driven the first roll-outs to happen earlier than anticipated – earlier than anyone needs them, it can be argued – are trying to manage the expectations of their shareholders and partners. AT&T – which did so much to…