AI is the only way to plan and run a dense 5G network, says AT&T

The challenges that operators face when trying to densify their outdoor networks are well documented. It is tough to gain access to the right sites without a time-consuming process of individually negotiating for each one, but even the best efforts to achieve a standardized template – let alone a common scale of pricing – have run into many problems (see separate item). The latest opposition from US cities to proposals by the FCC shows the significance of the problem – and the USA has progressed a lot further than most countries in seeking to address the issue, as its operators gear up for major densification programs, which will only intensify with 5G. Even if the MNO succeeds in negotiating the…