Virtualization, open source and common standards may help drive down the capex cost of mobile networks over time, putting the expected density of 5G at least in striking distance of commercial viability. But operators also need to slash operating costs if they are to invest in serious levels of densification and ubiquitous coverage – which will be needed to enable new premium revenue streams from some mission critical, enterprise and IoT applications. The key to an entirely new approach to operations will be full automation, according to some operators, which were very vocal at last week’s SDN/NFV World Congress in The Hague, Netherlands. Deutsche Telekom said the industry would ultimately get to a network which could run with “no human…