“A mobile-telecoms revolution is under way – one reminiscent of the way personal computers replaced mainframes in the 1980s, and cloud-based apps are replacing traditional software today,”wrote Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Mobile, in 2021.1 Amin was referring to the "telco cloud transformation" – the transition to hosting network functions in software form and in the cloud, as opposed to physical storage in vast server "farms." In 2020, Amin had led the rollout of the world’s first fully cloud-native mobile network for Rakuten Mobile.2 Since then, several telcos have stepped up to the plate with plans to build and operate their own cloud-based networks:In April 2021, Dish – the 4th-largest mobile network operator (MNO) in the US – announced its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host its radio access network (RAN) and mobile core on AWS Cloud.3 Dish plans to spend $10 billion overall, including on the deployment of its cloud-native network, on realizing its 5G network ambitions by 2025.