Microsoft may not have not been correct to describe taking over AT&T’s mobile network and 5G core as a unique step for the cellular industry, but it certainly raised questions over the wisdom of tier 1 operators becoming over-dependent on the big technology houses. This after all came at a time when many operators were seeking to avoid becoming too reliant on Ericsson and Nokia for the RAN, so such a move suggested that the core might be moving in the opposite direction. That partnership, struck in June 2021, will see AT&T’s mobile core network transferred to run on Microsoft’s Azure for Operators. Although US mobile new entrant Dish is putting some of its core and RAN functions in…