If there is one lesson that the large operators have belatedly learned, it is that network evolution and new strategies for applications and services must be tightly integrated. Too often, operators have invested in new, powerful infrastructure but continued to monetize in the same old way; or alternatively have set out ambitious programs for new applications without optimizing network capabilities to match. But Telefónica’s API platform initiative (see separate item) is tied closely to its plans for agile network infrastructure; and Vodafone’s pursuit of open virtualized RAN architectures increasingly seems to be about more than just opening up the supply chain, and to be part of a wider goal of developing fully flexible service platforms. The problem is that investing…