Mobile operators are becoming more collaborative as they seek to define their own open platforms, rather than have architectures imposed on them by vendors. But this does not mean that the process of creating common frameworks is a harmonious one. Large operators have all kinds of conflicts of interest with one another, as well as different viewpoints on the best approach to a virtualized, software-defined 5G network. So, rival operator-driven alliances are emerging in several key areas of the new network, including the MANO (management and orchestration) layer – where the options are led by ETSI Open Source MANO and the AT&T-driven ONAP – and the RAN itself. In the latter, another AT&T-originated project, now called Open RAN (ORAN) Alliance,…