As the European Union-backed 5G PPP program enters its second phase of R&D projects, there is a very different mood among operators in relation to 5G deployment, compared to that in 2015, when Phase 1 was launched. Then, real world 5G was still far enough away that MNOs could either be blithely optimistic, or largely ignore the issue. Two years later, a few of their number – though mainly in the US or south-east Asia – are planning deployments or large-scale trials next year. The MNOs are still divided, but they are split over real commercial issues. A few European operators want to be in the first wave of 5G roll-out – before 2022 – but a larger number are…