The 5G trials and partnerships continue to mount up, with varying degrees of credibility from firm commercial plans to PR hype. One of the most significant developments is not a technology test, however, but the potential for China to transform its spectrum allocation process to help drive 5G forward. China is poised to be an early and aggressive deployer of 5G, whatever that turns out to be, and its operators and vendors are already advanced in key architectural changes, such as Cloud-RAN, which will help make 5G a reality. However, all that progress could be thwarted by prolonged or over-political spectrum processes, like those which delayed China’s 3G launches by years. The country recently issued new Radio Regulations, which came…