While 5G may be going through the inevitable reality check with many operators, it is still a label that helps to drive share prices up and excite venture capitalists. Wireless network equipment has hardly been a hot market for VC investment for many years – the last time was probably the WiFi bubble of the mid-2000s. But the 5G label, and the prospect that a more open, cloud-based approach to mobile networks may make new entrants viable at last, looks to be changing that. The prospects for start-ups to attract funding for RAN technologies are being boosted by the operators’ desire to support companies which could open up their supply chains; and in the USA, by the politically driven push…