The Chinese operators’ ability to make early 5G profitable looks uncertain, given the speed and scale of their roll-out, combined with increased price competition and little sign that consumers will pay a 5G premium. Just to make matters more challenging for the three established MNOs, they now have to deal with mobile number portability (MNP), which after any delays, came into force on December 1. After years of discussions, tests and false starts, the three operators haves been running MNP pilots in five provinces since September, and have seen 3.16m users choosing to change to a new operator. This only amounts to 1.8% of the customer base in those regions, but that could still suggest that 20m people might move…