Verizon has quietly emerged from the shadow of rival AT&T’s monumental $14 billion Open RAN deal with Ericsson. The magnitude of the deal took Verizon aback, as it did many observers, and also unusual in that it did not include Samsung, Verizon’s own preferred partner for Open RAN and vRAN. Not wishing to be seen as spiteful about the deal, Verizon has been calmly articulating its long-standing argument that operators are best off deploying vRAN across their 5G network first. Since this provides a sound foundation for Open RAN for when that technology is mature enough to deliver on its promise of multivendor choice and innovation. vRAN can be regarded as one of a triumvirate of technologies that can transform…