Many of the discussions about 5G economics bring a strong sense of déjà vu. There’s the one about introducing a new system of patent licensing, to drive down the cost of devices – pretty much a re-run of a conversation that came with the advent of LTE. Then there’s the one where operators insist they want to break away from large OEM lock-in and adopt open, multivendor networks with far more price competition. So far, just as all the good intentions came to little a decade ago, so there has been small progress in the 5G era either. Where network costs are concerned, however, the urgency to break free of the major vendors’ stranglehold is growing. The manufacturers have consolidated…