Rising frustration at the slow pace of telco network virtualization has been a strong theme of 2018, pouring cold water on the heady enthusiasm of earlier years, and the hopes that NFV and software-defined networking (SDN) would quickly transform the cost base and service models of the MNOs, well ahead of 5G. In fact, first-stage 5G roll-outs are coming more quickly than major virtualization programs for most MNOs, particularly when it comes to the RAN, and operators are having to rethink the economics of their early deployments. One problem is that there are so many efforts to achieve the much-needed common framework. Some are conducted by open industry alliances, some by standards bodies, and in many cases they overlap or…