ETSI has started work on the next release of NFV (network function virtualization), the key specifications which underpin telco virtualized networks – just as the platform is under fire like never before. Some telcos have increasingly been criticizing NFV for being too cumbersome and so failing to deliver the key targeted benefits of virtualized networks – agility, low cost and flexibility. Early deployments of virtualized network elements, such as packet cores or gateways, have often relied on virtual machines (VM), while the cloud world has been moving rapidly to the more agile containers and microservices – which allow the functions to be broken up into very small elements that can be easily reconfigured and recombined. Now, a report from Gartner…